Abstract

The random distribution of graphene in epoxy matrix hinders the further applications of graphene-epoxy composites in the field of tribology. Hence, in order to fully utilize the anisotropic properties of graphene, highly aligned graphene-epoxy composites (AGEC) with horizontally oriented structure have been fabricated via an improved vacuum filtration freeze-drying method. The frictional tests results indicated that the wear rate of AGEC slowly increased from 5.19×10−6 mm3/(N·m) to 2.87×10−5 mm3/(N·m) with the increasing of the normal load from 2 to 10 N, whereas the friction coefficient (COF) remained a constant of 0.109. Compared to the neat epoxy and random graphene-epoxy composites (RGEC), the COF of AGEC was reduced by 87.5% and 71.2%, and the reduction of wear rate was 86.6% and 85.4% at most, respectively. Scanning electron microscope (SEM) observations illustrated that a compact graphene self-lubricant film was formed on the worn surface of AGEC, which enables AGEC to possess excellent tribological performance. Finally, in light of the excellent tribological properties of AGEC, this study highlights a pathway to expand the tribological applications of graphene-epoxy composites.

Details

Title
Enhanced tribological properties of aligned graphene-epoxy composites
Author
Du Yuefeng 1 ; Zhang, Zhenyu 1 ; Wang, Dong 2 ; Zhang Lezhen 3 ; Cui Junfeng 1 ; Chen, Yapeng 4 ; Wu, Mingliang 1 ; Kang Ruiyang 1 ; Lu Yunxiang 4 ; Yu, Jinhong 4 ; Jiang, Nan 4 

 Dalian University of Technology, Key Laboratory for Precision and Non-Traditional Machining Technology of Ministry of Education, Dalian, China (GRID:grid.30055.33) (ISNI:0000 0000 9247 7930) 
 China Academy of Space Technology, Beijing Spacecrafts Manufacturing Factory Co., Ltd., Beijing, China (GRID:grid.464215.0) (ISNI:0000 0001 0243 138X) 
 Weichai Power Co., Ltd., Weifang, China (GRID:grid.497253.e) 
 Chinese Academy of Sciences, Key Laboratory of Marine Materials and Related Technologies, Zhejiang Key Laboratory of Marine Materials and Protective Technologies, Ningbo Institute of Materials Technology and Engineering (NIMTE), Ningbo, China (GRID:grid.9227.e) (ISNI:0000000119573309) 
Pages
854-865
Publication year
2022
Publication date
Jun 2022
Publisher
Springer Nature B.V.
ISSN
22237690
e-ISSN
22237704
Source type
Scholarly Journal
Language of publication
English
ProQuest document ID
2647475794
Copyright
© The Author(s) 2021. This work is published under http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ (the “License”). Notwithstanding the ProQuest Terms and Conditions, you may use this content in accordance with the terms of the License.