Contact pressure dependency in frictional behavior of burnished molybdenum disulphide coatings

The drop of coefficient of friction of MoS2 coatings with increase in contact pressure has been reported by various earlier researchers. Different hypothesis have been put forward to explain this phenomenon. This paper covers details of experiments carried out to investigate this further: Experiments have been carried out on reciprocating sliding wear and friction machine to bring out the influence of different parameters on the tribological behavior of MoS2 films. Role of frictional heating in this behavior has also been brought out. It is concluded that frictional properties of MoS2 are dependent on prevalent humidity as well as contact pressure and the drop of mu with contact pressure is independent of frictional heating.