Preparation and utility of a self-lubricating & anti-wear graphene oxide/nano-polytetrafluoroethylene hybrid

We design a feasible approach to prepare a self-lubricating and anti-wear graphene oxide/nano-polytetrafluoroethylene (GO/nano-PTFE, abbreviated GNF) hybrid additive by chemical compounding as a novel nano-solid lubricant. This proposal is to overcome the high friction coefficient of GO/polymer specimens for further increase in wear resistance. To explore the utility of GNF, it was incorporated into polyimide (PI) and epoxy (EP) matrices to yield GNF/PI and GNF/EP composites. The tribological properties and mechanism of GNF/polymer composites were investigated in detail. A nearly 60% reduction in friction coefficient and more than two orders of magnitude reduction in wear rate were obtained in both GNF/PI and GNF/EP composites with only 1 wt% GNF addition. Compared with unfilled polymers or polymers with individual fillers, the major increase in tribological properties of the GNF/polymer composites shows the synergy effect between nano-PTFE and GO. The increased tribological properties can be ascribed to four aspects: homogeneous GNF dispersion and strong interface, the increased mechanical properties, transfer film and tribological effect (protective effect and suppression effect) of GNF. It is demonstrated that this approach provides a novel self-lubricating and anti-wear nano-solid lubricant that greatly reduces wear and material loss.