A sliding surface, which is formed using metal (SUJ2, palladium etc.) or oxide ceramics (ZrO.sub.2), is made to slide, at a Hertzian contact stress of 1.0 GPa or more in an atmospheric environment containing a hydrogen gas including a minute amount of an alcohol and water, against a slid surface including a PLC film which is a coating formed by an ionization deposition method while applying a low bias voltage. Consequently, it is possible to form, on the sliding surface, a low-friction coating that stably exhibits a significantly low friction coefficient of 10.sup.−4 order (less than 0.001).

An aqueous coating agent composition includes (A) a curable resin in the form of an aqueous emulsion, (B) a surfactant, (C) solid particles, (D) one or more nitrogen-containing heterocyclic compounds, and (E) water. In various embodiments, component (C) includes a solid lubricant, and for reasons of environmental regulations, component (D) includes 1,3-dimethyl-2-imidazolidinone.

The invention provides a fullerene compound; a lubricant that is for a magnetic recording medium and that contains the fullerene compound; and a magnetic recording medium. The fullerene compound is an ionic liquid that is represented by general formula (1) and is formed from a Bronsted acid (H.sub.n1X) and a Bronsted base ([R.sub.2R.sub.3)N—].sub.m1—R.sub.1); wherein one of the Brønsted acid and the Broønsted base contains a group having a fullerene; and the other contains a perfluoroalkyl chain. ##STR00001##

The invention provides a fullerene compound; a lubricant that is for a magnetic recording medium and that contains the fullerene compound; and a magnetic recording medium. The fullerene compound is an ionic liquid that is represented by general formula (1) and is formed from a Bronsted acid (H.sub.n1X) and a Bronsted base ([R.sub.2R.sub.3)N—].sub.m1—R.sub.1); wherein one of the Brønsted acid and the Broønsted base contains a group having a fullerene; and the other contains a perfluoroalkyl chain. ##STR00001##

A sliding member includes a carbon transfer layer and can superiorly effectively decrease friction and reduce wear. A method produces the sliding member. The sliding member includes a substrate and a carbon transfer layer. The carbon transfer layer is disposed on the surface of the substrate and includes both sp.sup.2 bonded carbon and sp.sup.3 bonded carbon. The carbon transfer layer preferably has a ratio sp.sup.3/(sp.sup.2+sp.sup.3) of the sp.sup.3 bonded carbon to the totality of the sp.sup.2 bonded carbon and the sp.sup.3 bonded carbon of 0.1 or more.

Provided are a coating film, a manufacturing method for the same, and a PVD device that not only sufficiently improve the balance of low-friction properties and wear resistance, but also improve chipping resistance and peeling resistance. This film is coated on a substrate surface, wherein the coating film has a hard carbon that presents relatively black and white when observed in a cross-sectional bright-field TEM image, a mesh-shaped hard carbon layer is formed using a PVD method, said layer having white-colored hard carbon in a mesh shape extending in the thickness direction and black-colored hard carbon dispersed into the cavities in the mesh, and the ID/IG ratio is 1-6 when the mesh-shaped hard carbon layer is measured using Raman spectroscopy, said ratio being the ratio of the Raman spectrum D band peak area intensity and G band peak area intensity.

Provided are a coating film, a manufacturing method for the same, and a PVD device that not only sufficiently improve the balance of low-friction properties and wear resistance, but also improve chipping resistance and peeling resistance. This film is coated on a substrate surface, wherein the coating film has a hard carbon that presents relatively black and white when observed in a cross-sectional bright-field TEM image, a mesh-shaped hard carbon layer is formed using a PVD method, said layer having white-colored hard carbon in a mesh shape extending in the thickness direction and black-colored hard carbon dispersed into the cavities in the mesh, and the ID/IG ratio is 1-6 when the mesh-shaped hard carbon layer is measured using Raman spectroscopy, said ratio being the ratio of the Raman spectrum D band peak area intensity and G band peak area intensity.

A solid lubricant bar comprising hydrogenated castor oil or wax, expandable flake graphite, and copper. ATH, MDH, and zinc borate can also be added to the formulation to enhance fire retardancy and suppression.

A solid lubricant bar comprising hydrogenated castor oil or wax, expandable flake graphite, and copper. ATH, MDH, and zinc borate can also be added to the formulation to enhance fire retardancy and suppression.

Some variations provide a low-adhesion coating comprising a continuous matrix containing a first component, a plurality of inclusions containing a second component, and a solid-state lubricant distributed within the coating, wherein one of the first component or the second component is a low-surface-energy polymer, and the other of the first component or the second component is a hygroscopic material. The solid-state lubricant may be selected from graphite, graphene, molybdenum disulfide, tungsten disulfide, hexagonal boron nitride, or poly(tetrafluoroethylene) or other fluoropolymers. The solid-state lubricant particles may be coated with a metal selected from cadmium, lead, tin, zinc, copper, nickel, or alloys containing one or more of these metals. The solid-state lubricant is typically characterized by an average particle size from about 0.1 μm to about 500 μm. The solid-state lubricant is preferably distributed throughout the coating.