Tribobond™ 55 – new coating for vacuum and dry gas environments

Coatings that support the growing hydrogen economy and more

The demand for surface solutions applicable to dry and vacuum conditions has grown over the years. Industries are adapting vacuum for new semi-conductor processes, preparing for the use of hydrogen as a green fuel and requiring more robust solutions for pumps and valves operating in dry gas environment. While the remarkable properties of DLC shine in many environments, they may become compromised in these dry gas or vacuum environments.

In these environments, it is not uncommon for the coefficient of friction to become even higher than that of uncoated materials. The problem is that humidity/water vapour are partially responsible for ‘passivating’ fresh DLC material, which is exposed when wear occurs. If no or too little vapour is present, the fresh DLC surface remains active, ultimately leading to increased friction and wear. In order to overcome this, the DLC composition has to be modified, to provide an ‘internal source’ for keeping the surface energy low and, consequently, the friction too.