Affiliation:
1. School of Nuclear Science and Technology, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou 730000, China
2. Key Laboratory of Science and Technology on Wear and Protection of Materials, Lanzhou Institute of Chemical Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Lanzhou 730000, China
Abstract
Vacuum-sliding electrical contacts find extensive application in aerospace components, yet they face limitations related to inadequate lubrication performance. In this study, we analyzed the design of an emerging conductive lubricant material, NbSe2. A series of NbSe2-Ti films with varying doped Ti contents were prepared through magnetron sputtering technology. We investigated the correlation between the sputtering current and composition, microstructure, mechanical properties, and current-carrying tribological properties of the films. The results indicate that under vacuum and current-carrying conditions, the NbSe2-Ti films demonstrate significant advantages over existing electrical-contact lubrication materials. Compared with electroplated gold films, the NbSe2-Ti films reduced the coefficient of friction from 0.25 to 0.015, thereby improving the wear life by more than six times. This result demonstrates that magnetron-sputtered NbSe2 film can be used as a lubricant for space current-carrying sliding contacts.
Funder
China Postdoctoral Science Foundation
Natural Science Foundation of Gansu Province
National Outstanding Youth Science Fund Project of the National Natural Science Foundation of China