A study of intensity of tribochemical contact interaction between a polishing compound and sapphire in machining

The paper presents the findings of a study of the intensity of tribochemical contact interaction between sapphire (alpha-Al2O3) and a polishing compound based on colloidal silica SiO2, which occurs in polishing precision electronic and optical components. It has been established that the main factor that intensifies this interaction is the acceleration of a chemical reaction between Al2O3 and SiO2 with increasing contact temperature, which experimentally validates the chemical nature of the tribochemical polishing process and allows a significant reduction of its labor intensity.