Surface chemistry and bonding configuration of ultrananocrystalline diamond surfaces and their effects on nanotribological properties

Journal Article · Sat Dec 15 00:00:00 EST 2007 · Physical Review. B, Condensed Matter and Materials Physics

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PHYSREVB.76.235429· OSTI ID:21052832

Sumant, A V; Grierson, D S; Carpick, R W ^[1]; Gerbi, J E ^[2]; Carlisle, J A; Auciello, O ^[2]

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1. Department of Engineering Physics, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Wisconsin 53706 (United States)
2. Materials Science Division, Argonne National Laboratory, Argonne, Illinois 60439 (United States)

We present a comprehensive study of surface composition and nanotribology for ultrananocrystalline diamond (UNCD) surfaces, including the influence of film nucleation on these properties. We describe a methodology to characterize the underside of the films as revealed by sacrificial etching of the underlying substrate. This enables the study of the morphology and composition resulting from the nucleation and initial growth of the films, as well as the characterization of nanotribological properties which are relevant for applications including micro-/nanoelectromechanical systems. We study the surface chemistry, bonding configuration, and nanotribological properties of both the topside and the underside of the film with synchrotron-based x-ray absorption near-edge structure spectroscopy to identify the bonding state of the carbon atoms, x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy to determine the surface chemical composition, Auger electron spectroscopy to further verify the composition and bonding configuration, and quantitative atomic force microscopy to study the nanoscale topography and nanotribological properties. The films were grown on SiO{sub 2} after mechanically polishing the surface with detonation synthesized nanodiamond powder, followed by ultrasonication in a methanol solution containing additional nanodiamond powder. The sp{sup 2} fraction, morphology, and chemistry of the as-etched underside are distinct from the topside, exhibiting a higher sp{sup 2} fraction, some oxidized carbon, and a smoother morphology. The nanoscale single-asperity work of adhesion between a diamond nanotip and the as-etched UNCD underside is far lower than for a silicon-silicon interface (59.2{+-}2 vs 826{+-}186 mJ/m{sup 2}, respectively). Exposure to atomic hydrogen dramatically reduces nanoscale adhesion to 10.2{+-}0.4 mJ/m{sup 2}, at the level of van der Waals' interactions and consistent with recent ab initio calculations. Friction is substantially reduced as well, demonstrating a direct link between the surface chemistry and nanoscale friction. The proposed mechanism, supported by the detailed surface spectroscopic analysis, is the elimination of reactive (e.g., C*-), polar (e.g., C=O), and {pi}-bonded (C=C) surface groups, which are replaced by fully saturated, hydrogen-terminated surface bonds to produce an inert surface that interacts minimally with the contacting counterface.

• OSTI ID: 21052832
• Journal Information: Physical Review. B, Condensed Matter and Materials Physics, Vol. 76, Issue 23; Other Information: DOI: 10.1103/PhysRevB.76.235429; (c) 2007 The American Physical Society; Country of input: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); ISSN 1098-0121
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS
SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND SUPERFLUIDITY
36 MATERIALS SCIENCE
ABSORPTION SPECTROSCOPY
ATOMIC FORCE MICROSCOPY
AUGER ELECTRON SPECTROSCOPY
BONDING
CHEMISTRY
DIAMONDS
ETCHING
FRICTION
HYDROGEN
MECHANICAL POLISHING
METHANOL
MORPHOLOGY
NANOSTRUCTURES
SEMICONDUCTOR MATERIALS
SILICA
SILICON
SURFACES
THIN FILMS
X-RAY PHOTOELECTRON SPECTROSCOPY
X-RAY SPECTROSCOPY