Diamond-Hard, Slippery, and Body-Friendly

Got something to say to this podcast? Send a voicemail, and you might hear yourself on the next episode! In this episode, Elena and Marcus unpack "Comprehensive review of hydrogenated amorphous carbon coatings with SiOx and their multifunctional properties", published as a Progress in Surface Science 2026 paper. Diamond-like carbon (DLC) coatings are limited by high internal stress (3–10 GPa, causing delamination) and thermal degradation at 200–250°C; adding silicon oxide to make a-C:H:SiOx relieves stress, keeps hardness at 10–20 GPa, extends stability to 400–450°C, and yields friction 0.02–0.2 with wear <10⁻⁶ mm³·N⁻¹·m⁻¹. Part of a series covering all 575 of Prof. Volinsky's publications, one episode at a time. Paper DOI: 10.1016/j.progsurf.2026.100839. Note: voices in this episode are AI-generated: Elena and Marcus.