Tribological performance of fluoroalkylsilane modification of sol–gel TiO2 coating

This paper explores the possibility of making coatings with super friction-reducing and wear protection properties by using both sol–gel and self-assembling techniques. The thin film of TiO2 was firstly prepared on glass substrates via a sol–gel method, followed by sintering at 480°C. The self-assembled monolayer of Fluoroalkylsilane (FAS) were then prepared on TiO2 thin film to obtain TiO2–FAS dual-layer film. The contact angle measurement and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy were used to determine the wetting behavior and chemical structure of films, respectively. The friction behavior of films sliding against a steel ball was examined on a macro friction and wear tester. It is shown that FAS is strongly adsorbed on sol–gel derived TiO2 thin film, making it strongly hydrophobic. Good friction-reducing and wear protection behavior is observed for the glass substrate after duplex surface-modification with sol–gel TiO2 and top layer of FAS.