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Friction 2022, 10(6): 854-865 https://doi.org/10.1007/s40544-021-0496-2
Research Article | Open Access | Issue | Published: 28 April 2021

Enhanced tribological properties of aligned graphene-epoxy composites

Show Author's Information Yuefeng DU1,  Zhenyu ZHANG1( ),  Dong WANG2,  Lezhen ZHANG3,  Junfeng CUI1,  Yapeng CHEN4,  Mingliang WU1,  Ruiyang KANG1,  Yunxiang LU4,  Jinhong YU4,  Nan JIANG4( )
Key Laboratory for Precision and Non-Traditional Machining Technology of Ministry of Education, Dalian University of Technology, Dalian 116024, China
Beijing Spacecrafts Manufacturing Factory Co., Ltd., China Academy of Space Technology, Beijing 100094, China
Weichai Power Co., Ltd., Weifang 261061, China
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), Chinese Academy of Sciences, Ningbo 315201, China
Keywords:
tribological performance, graphene, epoxy composite, aligned
Cite this article:
DU Y, ZHANG Z, WANG D, et al. Enhanced tribological properties of aligned graphene-epoxy composites. Friction, 2022, 10(6): 854-865. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40544-021-0496-2
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Abstract Full text About this article

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.


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About this article

Enhanced tribological properties of aligned graphene-epoxy composites

Show Author's information Yuefeng DU1, Zhenyu ZHANG1( ), Dong WANG2, Lezhen ZHANG3, Junfeng CUI1, Yapeng CHEN4, Mingliang WU1, Ruiyang KANG1, Yunxiang LU4, Jinhong YU4, Nan JIANG4( )
Key Laboratory for Precision and Non-Traditional Machining Technology of Ministry of Education, Dalian University of Technology, Dalian 116024, China
Beijing Spacecrafts Manufacturing Factory Co., Ltd., China Academy of Space Technology, Beijing 100094, China
Weichai Power Co., Ltd., Weifang 261061, China
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), Chinese Academy of Sciences, Ningbo 315201, China

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.

Keywords: tribological performance, graphene, epoxy composite, aligned

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Publication history
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Publication history

Received: 11 October 2020
Revised: 29 December 2020
Accepted: 25 January 2021
Published: 28 April 2021
Issue date: June 2022

Copyright

© The author(s) 2021.

Acknowledgements

The authors acknowledge the financial supports from the National Key R&D Program of China (2018YFA0703400), the Xinghai Science Funds for Distinguished Young Scholars at Dalian University of Technology, and the Collaborative Innovation Center of Major Machine Manufacturing in Liaoning.

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