Tribology of Polymer Film with Hard Interlayers on Si Surface - Role of Surface Energy on Adhesion and Static Friction

Abstract

In this study, ultra high molecular weight polyethylene (UHMWPE) is used as the polymer film because it has low coefficient of friction coupled with very high wear resistance among all polymers. Direct coating of UHMWPE film onto Si surface can increase wear durability to some extent but it is not sufficient for industrial applications where the life of products is in millions of cycles. Different surface modifications on Si are proposed in order to enhance the wear durability. In the later part, the effect of surface energy on the coefficient of static friction of the polymer film has been studied. The correlation between the static friction and surface energy is modeled and compared with the experimental results.