Effect of Impregnation of Iodine Complex on Friction of Anodic Oxide of Aluminum

Polyvinyl pyrrolidone-Iodine complex (PVP-I) molecules were impregnated into the anodic oxide of an aluminum disk specimen. It was rubbed against a silicon nitride ball specimen using a ball-on-disk type friction test rig. Over the limited range of parameters studied (load: 0.2-1.0 N, sliding velocity: 0.6 mm/s, and sliding distance: 1-7 m), the coefficient of friction decreased to a value as low as 0.01 from values of 0.3 to 0.7 for the anodic oxide surface. Single-crystal iodine rubbed against silicon nitride showed a coefficient of friction of 0.1. The low coefficient of friction is attributed to the thin PVP-I film on the relatively hard anodic oxide. The mechanism of coefficient of friction reduction is the same as that of a thin soft film on a hard substrate.