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Comparison of Macro and Microtribological Property of Molybdenum Disulfide Film Exposed to LEO Space Environment

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Abstract

Macro- and microtribological properties of the MoS2 film exposed to atomic oxygen, ultraviolet rays and radiation both in low earth orbit (LEO) and in ground-based facility were evaluated relevance to micro/nano satellites. MoS2 samples are exposed to LEO space environment by the space environment exposure device experiment on international space station. Laser-detonation atomic oxygen beam source was used for atomic oxygen simulation on the ground. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and energy dispersive spectroscopy measurements suggested that electron beam and ultraviolet exposure did not affect chemical structure of MoS2 surfaces. However, atomic oxygen-exposed and flight samples showed surface oxidation. It was found that the macroscopic friction coefficient of the flight sample was similar to that of the control sample. In contrast, remarkable increase in friction coefficient in microscopic properties was observed.

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Acknowledgments

The authors would like to thank K. Imagawa and Y. Kimoto of JAXA for their support for SM/SEED project. H. Nakagawa of Mitsubishi Electric Corporation is acknowledged for his help with the experiment.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Graduate School of Engineering, Kobe University, Kobe, 657-8501, Japan

    Masahito Tagawa, Kumiko Yokota & Kunitaka Ochi

  2. IHI Aerospace Co., Ltd., Tomioka, 370-2398, Japan

    Masao Akiyama

  3. Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, Chofu, Tokyo, 182-8522, Japan

    Koji Matsumoto & Mineo Suzuki

Authors
  1. Masahito Tagawa
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  2. Kumiko Yokota
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  3. Kunitaka Ochi
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  4. Masao Akiyama
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  5. Koji Matsumoto
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  6. Mineo Suzuki
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Correspondence to Masahito Tagawa.

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Tagawa, M., Yokota, K., Ochi, K. et al. Comparison of Macro and Microtribological Property of Molybdenum Disulfide Film Exposed to LEO Space Environment. Tribol Lett 45, 349–356 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11249-011-9893-4

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11249-011-9893-4

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