Aluminum ion beam surface modification of elastic metallic-plastic pads for improving tribological properties

Elastic metallic-plastic pads (EMP) were irradiated by low energy aluminum ion in a metal vapor vacuum arc (MEVVA) 80-10 implantation system. The samples were irradiated with 20 keV Al ion with the influx from 1 × 1015 to 1 × 1016 Al/cm2. Then the as-irradiated samples were measured by ESCA, XRD, AFM/FFM and a nanoprobe. It is found that the hardness of as-irradiated samples is 5-6 times as that of the pristine ones. The worn depth of sample implanted at ion influx of 1 × 1016 Al/cm2 is about one eighth of that of the pristine sample at the same load. The XRD results show that there are some Al2O3 and AlF3 intermingled with the phase of polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE). The experimental results reveal that the tribological properties of EMP can be significantly improved by the ion beam surface modification.