TY - JOUR A1 - Österle, Werner A1 - Giovannozzi, A. A1 - Gradt, Thomas A1 - Häusler, Ines A1 - Rossi, A. A1 - Wetzel, B. A1 - Zhang, G. A1 - Dmitriev, A.I. T1 - Exploring the potential of Raman spectroscopy for the identification of silicone oil residue and wear scar characterization for the assessment of tribofilm functionality N2 - We applied a combination of Raman spectroscopy (RS) and cross-sectional transmission electron microscopy (X-TEM) to identify silicone oil residues and tribofilms at steel disc surfaces after tribological testing. Neither chemical cleaning nor mechanical removal of a 50 µm thick surface layer produced a surface without any silicone residue. Nevertheless, long-term tribological properties are not affected due to silicone degradation which has been proved by Raman spectroscopy. Excellent anti-wear and anti-friction properties of a nanocomposite at severe stressing conditions correlated with the formation of a silica-based tribofilm containing amorphous and graphite-like carbon nanoparticles. Since reliable carbon quantification by analytical TEM is difficult, RS is a useful complementary method for carbon identification at wear scars. KW - Raman spectroscopy KW - Cross-sectional TEM KW - Silicone oil residue KW - Tribofilm PY - 2015 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.triboint.2015.04.046 SN - 0301-679X VL - 90 SP - 481 EP - 490 PB - Butterworth-Heinemann CY - Oxford AN - OPUS4-33421 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER -