ABSTRACT
The term ‘tribo’ has origins in the Greek word ‘tribos’ (rubbing),
which led to the sciences of lubrication, friction and wear being
called ‘tribology’ while the term corrosion has its origins inmedieval
Latin word ‘corrodere’, which mean to gnaw through with ‘cor’
meaning intensive force and ‘rodere’ to gnaw [1]. Therefore, the term
tribocorrosion refers to the surface degradation mechanisms when
mechanical wear and chemical/electrochemical processes interact
with each other. Therefore, the subject marries two sets of stimuli
together that of mechanical and electrochemical processes driven at
the tribological interface. There is a growing understanding that not
all tribological surfaces are appropriate for operating in corrosive
environments and that there are few design guides for selecting
surfaces for resistance to tribocorrosion. Thematerials and coatings
used in such applications need to be multifunctional providing
low wear, corrosion and friction as well as being anti-fouling or
decorative in some circumstances.
