Synthesis and characteristics of chloroform-treated silicon carbide-derived carbon layers

Abstract

Carbide-derived carbon (CDC) layers were synthesized on silicon carbide with two different halogen reactants. The reaction temperature and time were varied from 900 to 1200 °C and from 0 to 4 h, respectively. The effect of different reactants on the carbon structure was analyzed with scanning electron microscopy, Raman spectroscopy and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. The morphology, porosity and specific surface area were studied using a surface area and porosity analyzer. Tribological properties were measured with a pin-on-disk-type tribometer. Those results showed that chloroform-treated CDCs overcome the present limitations imposed by the conventional use of chlorine gas, leading to enhanced tribological properties. The surface roughness was greatly improved due to the formation of chemical bonds between CDC and decomposed chloroform. In addition, a decrease of specific surface area and an increase of graphitization were observed. As a result, both the friction coefficient and the wear rate of CDC layers synthesized with chloroform were greatly enhanced in comparison to conventional CDC layers synthesized with chlorine gas. Finally, a proposed model was introduced to explain our experimental observations.