I-Corps: Super-Hard and Low-Friction Coatings for Automotive Manufacturing

I-Corps项目的广泛影响/商业潜力源于开发具有必要硬度和其他化学特性的新型碳膜涂层。这种高级涂料预计有数十亿美元的潜在市场。在汽车应用中，用高性能碳膜涂覆发动机表面和活塞环将提高燃油效率，并大大减少二氧化碳和氮氧化物的排放，从而有利于环境。低摩擦超硬碳涂层在刀具、轴承、玻璃和电极上的广泛应用将大大降低制造成本和对地球资源的消耗。I-Corps项目旨在确定正在申请专利的磁增强阴极电弧等离子体技术的商业可行性，该技术能够覆盖工作部件的内外表面，如发动机衬套和轴承。该技术克服了传统物理气相沉积的视距限制。适当设计的磁场可以有效地限制电弧等离子体。单弧电流可达100安培以上，使目标材料局部蒸发。蒸发颗粒具有很高的动能，导致涂层与基体表面的良好附着力。当使用石墨靶材时，含能碳物质形成具有多种极端特性的强键：1)硬度值超过6000维氏（接近金刚石），而304不锈钢的硬度只有200维氏；2)低摩擦系数~0.1，与聚四氟乙烯值相近；3)具有优良的化学惰性和耐腐蚀性。该奖项反映了美国国家科学基金会的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

The broader impact/commercial potential of this I-Corps project stems from developing novel carbon film coatings that provide necessary hardness and other chemical characteristics. Such superior coatings are expected to have a potential market of billions of dollars. In automotive applications, coating the engine surfaces and the piston rings with the high-performance carbon films will improve the fuel efficiency and substantially reduce Carbon Dioxide and Nitrogen Oxide emissions to benefit the environment. Broad applications of the low-friction and super-hard carbon coatings on cutting tools, bearings, glass, and electrodes will greatly reduce the manufacturing costs and the consumption of the earth's resources. This I-Corps project aims to determine the commercial viability of a patent-pending magnetically enhanced cathodic arc plasma technology that is capable of coating the inner and outer surfaces of working components, such as engine liners and bearings. This technology overcomes the limitation of line-of-sight in conventional physical vapor depositions. A properly designed magnetic field efficiently confines the arc plasma. A single arc current can reach over 100 Amps to locally vaporize the target materials. The evaporated particles have high kinetic energies, leading to excellent adhesion of the coatings to the substrate surfaces. When a graphite target is used, the energetic carbon species form strong bonds with a combination of multiple extreme properties: 1) a hardness value of over 6000 Vickers (close to diamond) compared with ~200 Vickers of 304 stainless steel; 2) a low friction coefficient of ~0.1, similar to the value of Teflon; and 3) a superior chemical inertness and resistance to corrosion.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.