This paper examines the influence of steel surface composition on antiwear tribofilm formation by ion-implanting typical steel alloying elements, Ni, Mo, Cr, V and W, into AISI 52100 bearing steel surfaces. Such implantation changes the chemical composition of the steel surface but has relatively little effect on its mechanical properties or topography. The behaviour of zinc dialkyldithiophosphate (ZDDP) antiwear additive was studied. The study employs a ball on disc tribometer with ability to monitor tribofilm development and a range of analytical tools including STEM-EDX, XPS and FIB-TEM to analyse the formed tribofilms. It was found that Ni implantation promotes ZDDP tribofilm formation while Mo and Cr implantation deters tribofilm growth. V and W implantation do not significantly change tribofilm formation. Results on the influence of ZDDP concentration on tribofilm formation rate with different implanted metals suggest that one important mechanism by which steel composition influences tribofilm formation may be by controlling the extent of ZDDP adsorption. This study shows the importance of steel surface composition on ZDDP response and also demonstrates a powerful way to study and potentially improve the tribological performance of machine components via a combination of lubricant formulation and surface modification.

本文通过将典型的钢合金元素Ni，Mo，Cr，V和W离子注入AISI 52100轴承钢表面，研究了钢表面成分对耐磨膜形成的影响。这样的注入改变了钢表面的化学成分，但是对其机械性能或形貌的影响相对较小。研究了二烷基二硫代磷酸锌（ZDDP）抗磨添加剂的行为。这项研究使用了能够监测摩擦膜发展的圆盘摩擦计球，并使用了包括STEM-EDX，XPS和FIB-TEM在内的一系列分析工具来分析形成的摩擦膜。发现Ni注入促进ZDDP摩擦膜的形成，而Mo和Cr注入阻止摩擦膜的生长。V和W注入不会显着改变摩擦膜的形成。ZDDP浓度对不同注入金属对摩擦膜形成速率的影响的结果表明，钢成分影响摩擦膜形成的重要机制之一可能是控制ZDDP的吸附程度。这项研究表明了钢表面成分对ZDDP响应的重要性，并且还展示了一种有效的方法，通过结合润滑剂配方和表面改性，可以研究并潜在地改善机械部件的摩擦学性能。