Friction and wear behaviors of nitrogen ion-implanted polyimide against steel

A 50 mu m thickness polyimide (PI) film was implanted with 120 keV nitrogen ion to doses of 5 x 10(14) ions cm(-2) and 5 x 10(16) ions cm(-2) The structure of the treated PI was characterized by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and reflecting FT-IR, whereas the friction and wear behaviors of both implanted and unimplanted PI were investigated using a one-way reciprocating friction tester against a steel ball. Results indicate that nitrogen ion implantation decreases friction coefficient as well as wear rate, especially for the dose of 5 x 10(16) ions cm(-2). XPS and FT-IR analyses suggest the formation of cross-linking with CN bond during the process of nitrogen ion implantation.