Microtribologic properties of a covalently attached nanostructured self-assembly film fabricated from fullerene carboxylic acid and diazoresin

A novel self-assembly ultrathin film was fabricated using a C-60 carboxylic acid derivative and diazoresin through electrostatic interaction on different substrates. Following UV irradiation and the decomposition of the diazonium group, the bond nature of the film converted from ionic into covalent and the film got to be very stable. The microtribologic properties of the C-60-containing film were investigated using atomic force microscopy/friction force microscopy devices, and the result showed that rigid C-60 molecular in the film have load-bearing capacity. To increase the lubricative property of the film, a soft poly(acrylic acid) chain was incorporated into the film to form a ternary composite film and the polymer-bound C-60 film showed not only good load-bearing but also low friction properties.