Grease-lubricated tribological contacts-Influence of graphite, graphene oxide and reduced graphene oxide as lubricating additives in lithium complex (LiX)- and polypropylene (PP)-thickened greases

Two types of thickener systems, lithium complex (LiX) and polypropylene (PP), were chosen to evaluate graphite, graphene oxide (GO) and reduced graphene oxide (rGO) as grease additives at a concentration of 0.1 wt %. To enhance the additive dispersibility, a mixture of polyalphaolefin oil (PAO) and oil soluble synthetic polyalkylene glycol (OSP-68) was used as base oil. The greases were evaluated in i) silver-coated copper contacts simulating high-load electrical contact applications subjected to fretting and ii) a steel/steel 4-ball wear test equipment. The additives showed no positive effect on friction and wear, neither in fretting nor in 4-ball tests. However, there is a statistically significant difference in wear scar diameter on the 4-ball steel contacts between the two thickener types, LiX and PP. Thus, the PP-grease lubricated steel contacts showed more wear and more tribofilms of iron oxide and grease constituents, indicating more metal-to-metal contact. Hence, the thickener type has a larger impact on the lubricating performance of the grease than do the graphite, GO and rGO additions. The results demonstrate that the addition of graphene-based materials to improve greases is not straightforward. Rather, the grease/graphene-based additive system is complex and many parameters influence the friction and wear results. Hence, more work is needed to obtain a better understanding and possibly better lubricating effects from the graphene-based additives.

Automated summary

The type of thickener has a significant impact on wear and tribofilm formation, with polypropylene thickener showing more wear in steel contacts. Graphite, graphene oxide, and reduced graphene oxide additives did not have a significant effect on friction and wear in the grease.