Influence of intrinsic and extrinsic conditions on the tribological characteristics of diamond-like carbon coatings: A review

Tribological performance of industrial applications involving boundary lubrication regime can be improved by depositing surface coatings such as diamond-like carbon (DLC) on the interacting surfaces. DLCs are considered as hard coatings with unique combination of properties which results in minimizing the friction induced energy and material losses especially under starved lubrication conditions. In spite of high wear-resistance and ultralow friction coefficients, there are a lot of factors that can directly influence the tribological characteristics of DLC coatings. Although, many studies were conducted to comprehend the effects of intrinsic/extrinsic conditions on tribological behavior of these coatings, still there is a lack of understanding due to contradictory remarks. Therefore, there is a need to rearrange the published data in an organized manner for logical continuation of research. In this paper, a brief introduction of DLC coatings is presented followed by detailed discussion on conditions that can directly influence their tribological properties