Solid Lubricants

Solid lubricants consist of materials placed at the interface between moving bodies to mitigate friction and wear. This article begins with a historical overview of solid lubricants and discuses the characteristics and fundamental aspects of solid lubricants. It describes the material categories of solid lubricant coatings, including graphite, graphite fluoride, transition metal dichalcogenides, diamond-like-carbon, polymeric materials, and metallic films. The article presents a description of deposition methods from the simplest processes involving burnishing and impingement in open air to modern vacuum-based methods for solid lubricants. It concludes with a discussion on metrics that can be used to qualify solid lubricants in high-consequence applications.