Improved hardness and wear properties of B-ion implanted polycarbonate

Abstract

Polycarbonate (Lexan) was implanted with 100 and 200 keV B+ ions to doses of 0.26, 0.78, and 2.6 × 1015 ions/cm2 at room temperature (<100 °C). Mechanical characterization of implanted materials was carried out by nanoindentation and sliding wear tests. The results showed that the hardness of implanted polycarbonate increased with increasing ion energy and dose, attaining hardness up to 3.2 GPa at a dose of 2.6 × 1015 ions/cm2 for 200 keV ions, which is more than 10 times that of the unimplanted polymer. Wear properties were characterized using a reciprocating tribometer with nylon, brass, and SAE 52100 Cr-steel balls with 0.5 and 1 N normal forces for 10000 cycles. The wear mode varied widely as a function of ion energy, dose, wear ball type, and normal load. For given ion energy, load, and ball type conditions, there was an optimum dose that produced the greatest wear resistance and lowest friction coefficient. For polycarbonate implanted with 0.78 × 1015 ions/cm2, the nylon ball produced no wear after 10000 cycles. Moreover, the overall friction coefficient was reduced by over 40% by implantation. The results suggest that the potential of ion-beam technology for improving polycarbonate is significant, and that surface-sensitive mechanical properties can be tailored to meet the requirements for applications demanding hardness, wear, and abrasion resistance.