Structure and Tribological Behaviors of MoS₂ Films Treated by Water Bath

In order to investigate the effect of aqueous medium treatment on the structure and tribological properties of molybdenum disulfide (MoS₂) film, the sputtered MoS₂ film was treated by boiling water. A series of studies on the microstructure, tribology properties of the films before and after water bath were carried out. It was found that the longer the water bath time, the less amorphous, the more microcrystals. Additionally, the grain size decreased firstly and then increased. The film produced small dendrites on the big dendrites after being treated by water bath, and the treatment increased the density and wear life. The stress in the MoS₂ film also increased firstly and then decreased along with the boiling time. When the film was kept in the water bath for 20 minutes, the wear life was twice as that of the untreated MoS₂ film. As a consequence, the water bath treatment caused a change in the stress of the sputtered MoS₂ film. The wear behavior was discussed on basis of film microstructure.