Tribological evaluation of diamond coating on pure titanium in comparison with plasma nitrided titanium and uncoated titanium

Titanium alloys are characterized by poor tribological properties, and the traditional use of titanium alloys has been restricted to nontribological applications. The deposition of a well adherent diamond coating is a promising way to solve this problem. In this study, the tribological properties of diamond-coated titanium were studied using a pin-on-disk tribometer, and the results were compared with those of pure titanium and plasma nitrided titanium. The tribological behavior of pure titanium was characterized by high coefficient of friction and rapid wear of materials. Plasma nitriding improved the wear resistance only under low normal load; however, this hardened layer was not efficient in improving the wear resistance and the friction properties under high normal load. Diamond coating on pure titanium improved the wear resistance of titanium significantly. Surface profilometry measurement indicated that little or no wear of the diamond coating occurred under the test conditions loads. The roughness of the diamond coating was critical because it controlled the amount of abrasive damage on the counterface. Reducing the surface roughness by polishing led to the reductions in both the friction and wear of the counterface.