Influence of Grain Size and Humidity on the Nanotribological Properties of Wear-Resistant Nanostructured ZrO2 Coatings: An Atomic Force Microscopy Study

The nanotribological properties of nanostructured thin films of tetragonal ZrO2 on oxidized Si (100) were studied as a function of grain size and relative humidity (RH) by atomic force microscopy. The nanostructured ZrO2 showed a 50% decrease in friction coefficient μ compared with oxidized Si (100) in dry nitrogen atmosphere and 40% RH. A maximum of μ was observed at ca. 40% RH for both samples, while there were insignificant differences in μ for ZrO2 samples with grain sizes between 12 and 30 nm. The good tribological properties open the possibility for nanostructured zirconia to be applied as wear-resistant, low friction coatings on various materials