Investigation on the Microstructure and Tribological Performance of TiO2 Films by Surface Sol-gel Method

TiO2 thin films were prepared by surface sol-gel process on the glass substrates. Their structure, composition, surface morphology were investigated by means of X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction and atomic force microscopy. The tribologicalp roperties of the films were investigated with UMT22 friction and wear tester. The morphologies of the wear tracks of the thin films counterparts were examined using a scanningelectron microscope. Results show that, compared with traditional bulk sol-gel derived TiO2 thin films, the tribological properties of thin films was significantly improved. This is due to multi drying process can avoided structural defects resulting from instantaneous output of large volumes of solvent residues during drying and heat treatment in the case of traditional bulk sol-gel process. Improvement of friction and wear performance was attributed to a higher compact- ness.