Increasing operating temperatures within hard disk drives promote increased outgassing from drive components and thus can adversely influence the durability and reliability of hard disk drives. This study investigates the effects of hydrocarbon contamination on the bonding of perfluoropolyalkyl. ether (PFPE) lubricants to amorphous hydrogenated carbon (a-CHx)overcoats. This work has used decane (C10H22) as a model for the hydrocarbon contamination present in drives and perfluorodiethyl. ether ((CF3CF2)(2)O) and 2,2,2-trifluoroethanol (CF3CH2OH) as models for the backbone and endgroups, respectively, of the common disk lubricant Fomblin Zdol. Temperature-programmed desorption experiments were conducted using CF3CH2OH coadsorbed with C10H22 on an a-CHx overcoat and (CF3CF2)(2)O coadsorbed with C10H22 on an a-CHx overcoat. The results indicate that the presence of C10H22 decreases the adsorption energies of both CF3CH2OH and (CF3CF2)(2)O on the a-CHx overcoats. The implication of these results is that the mobility of PFPE lubricant films can be increased by the presence of hydrocarbon contaminants on the disk surface.