Nanoscale control of surface electronic structure and chemistry in anti-wear materials

COLL 64

Stephen V. Didziulis1, Hyun I. Kim1, and Kristine D. Butcher2. (1) Space Materials Laboratory, The Aerospace Corporation, 2350 E. El Segundo Blvd., Mail Stop M2-271, El Segundo, CA 90245, (2) Department of Chemistry, California Lutheran University, 60 W. Olsen Rd., MC 3700, Thousand Oaks, CA 91360
The very hard early transition metal carbide and nitrides exist in similar structures, enabling the substitution of both metal and non-metal to alter local electronic structure and potentially surface chemistry. This nano-scale control of surface properties may be exploited by developing uniquely reactive materials to promote the lubrication of devices with molecules targeted to adsorb and reactive with specific sites. This talk will present our first results of theoretical and experimental studies on mixed TixV1-xC materials. Density Functional Theory work explores the nature of the surface electronic structure and bonding properties, while photoelectron spectroscopy and HREELS are used to study clean single crystal surfaces and the interaction of small probe molecules. Our goal is to determine if these concepts can be exploited in the development of unique anti-wear coatings for micro- and macro-scale systems.