Feasibility study of self-lubrication by chlorine implantation

Implantation of chlorine into titanium nitride (TiN) coating on the high-speed steel substrate has succeeded in significant reduction of wear rate and friction coefficient for original TiN under dry wear condition. Through precise investigation on the surface reaction in the wear track, in situ formation of oxygen-deficient titanium oxides was found to play a role as a lubricious oxide. In the present paper, this self-lubrication mechanism is further investigated for various wearing conditions. For wide range of sliding speed and normal load in the wear map, the wear volume of a counter material is actually reduced with comparison to the un-implanted TiN. Effect of the ion implantation dose on this self-lubrication mechanism is also studied for practical use. Some comments are made on further application of this self-lubrication to manufacturing