Correlation between the wear resistance of Cu-Ni alloy and its electron work function

This article reports our studies on the performance of isomorphous Cu–Ni alloy during sliding and erosive wear processes with attempt to correlate its wear behaviour with the electron work function (EWF). EWF, mechanical behaviour and wear resistance of the Cu–Ni alloy with respect to the concentration of Ni were measured using ultraviolet photoelectron spectroscopy, micro-indenter, pin-on-disc and air-jet testers, respectively. It was demonstrated that EWF, hardness and Young’s modulus of the alloy increased as the concentration of Ni increased. During solid-particle erosion tests, the wear resistance of the alloy was enhanced with an increase in the Ni concentration, corresponding to an increase in EWF. However, an opposite trend was observed during sliding wear tests, which was ascribed to the formation of oxide scale that affected the sliding wear resistance.