Onion-like carbon (OLC), spherical nanoparticles consisting of carbon shells, is capable of providing exceptional lubrication effects. Nevertheless, the underlying mechanism, especially the tribo-induced evolution of interfacial nanostructures and their correlation with the friction states, is not clear. In this work, OLC films with a thickness of ∼1 μm were synthesized by electrophoretic deposition on the mirror-polished stainless steel. The lubricity was evaluated by tailoring the sliding aspects including applied normal load, contact time, and counterface materials. It is found that the friction reduction level is highly dependent on the material transfer and transformation of the OLC surface and the physicochemical nature of the as-formed tribolayer in the contact areas. The subsurface of the OLC film always undergoes a deep amorphization transformation upon sliding. It is interesting to note that the tribolayer formed on the bare steel ball is mainly composed of highly ordered graphene-like nanoflakes derived from the sliding-induced degradation of OLC nanospheres. In comparison, the nanospherical carbon structure can be retained in the topmost subsurface of the tribolayer formed on the ceramic Si3N4 ball. Such a nanosphere-/amorphization-coupled interface is capable of providing a robust lubrication state under high contact stresses. The findings identify a new lubrication mechanism for the spherical carbon nanostructure, rendering them effective solid lubricants.
Keywords: interfacial nanostructure; onion-like carbon; robust lubrication; tribochemistry; tribolayer.