Comprehensive Study on Carbon-Coated Silver for Improved Tribo-Electrical and Wetting Performance

• Published in: C (Basel) Vol. 10; no. 1; p. 16
• Main Authors: Alderete, Bruno, Mücklich, Frank, Suarez, Sebastian
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Basel MDPI AG 01-03-2024
• Subjects: Alcohol; Carbon; carbon nanohorns; Carbon nanotubes; Coatings; Contact angle; Contact resistance; Copper; Drop tests; Electric contacts; electrical contact resistance; Electrical properties; Electrophoretic deposition; Graphene; Graphite; Hydrophobicity; Lubricants & lubrication; Lubricity; Microscopy; Plating; Reduction; Silver; Silver plating; Solid lubricants; Substrates; Sulfur; tarnished silver; Transport properties; Tribology; Viscosity; Water drops; Wear; Wetting; United States > US
• ISSN: 2311-5629; 2311-5629
• DOI: 10.3390/c10010016

The rise in electrification has considerably increased the demand for high-efficiency and durable electrical contact materials. Carbon nanoparticles (CNP) are a promising coating material due to their intrinsic transport properties (thus minimizing the impact on conductivity), their proven solid lubricity (potentially improving tribological performance), and their hydrophobic wetting behavior (potentially providing atmospheric protection). In this study, carbon nanotube and nanohorn coatings are produced via electrophoretic deposition on silver-plated surfaces, followed by tribo-electrical and wetting characterization. The proposed coatings do not negatively affect the conductivity of the substrate, showing resistance values on par with the uncoated reference. Tribo-electrical characterization revealed that the coatings reduce adhesive wear during fretting tests while maintaining stable and constant electrical contact resistance. Furthermore, CNP-coated surfaces show a hydrophobic wetting behavior toward water, with graphite and carbon nanotube (CNT) coatings approaching super-hydrophobicity. Prolonged exposure to water droplets during sessile drop tests caused a reduction in contact angle (CA) measurement; however, CNT coatings’ CA reduction after five minutes was only approximately 5°. Accordingly, CNP (specifically CNT) coatings show auspicious results for their application as wear and atmospheric protective barriers in electrical contacts.