Tribological performance of fatty acid modification of sol-gel TiO ₂ coating

In this paper, the coatings with friction-reducing properties were investigated using both sol-gel and self-assembling techniques. The thin film of TiO₂ was firstly prepared on glass substrates via a sol-gel method, followed by calcinating at 480°C. The films of fatty acid were then deposited on the TiO₂ surface to obtain a duallayer film. The contact angle measurement and FT IR spectroscopy were used to determine the wetting behavior and chemical structure of films, respectively. The frictionreducing behavior of films sliding against a steel ball was examined on a macro friction and wear tester. It is found that fatty acid is strongly adsorbed on sol-gel derived TiO₂ surface. Good friction-reducing behavior is observed for the glass substrate after duplex surface-modification with TiO₂ surface obtained by sol-gel method and top layer of fatty acid.