Study on the Interaction between Talc and Perfluoropolyethers under Tribological Contact

Particle contamination at the head-disk interface (HDI) is a major concern for the long-term reliability of hard disk drives. In the current study, it is shown that, surprisingly, soft and lubricious talc particles have a significant damaging effect on the friction performance of media lubricants, nanometer-thick perfluoropolyethers. Thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) and the adsorption studies indicate that two mechanisms, Lewis acid-catalyzed decomposition and surface adsorption, are responsible for the observed tribological degradation. The potential impacts of the findings here on the design of next-generation media lubricant have been discussed.