Investigation of the tribological behavior of graphene oxide nanoplates as lubricant additives for ceramic/steel contact

Effects of graphene oxide nanoplates (GOPs) as lubricant additives on tribological behavior of Si3N4 ceramic/GCr15 steel pairs were investigated, and especially focused on its effects under different rotational speeds and applied loads. Test results demonstrated that Load-carrying capacity, friction reduction and wear resistant were improved by 18.2%,14.7% and 34% with 0.5 wt% GOPs lubrication. Under all tested rotational speeds, GOPs enhanced friction reduction and wear resistance of sliding pairs. Compared to the low applied loads, the tribo-pairs exhibited better tribological properties under high applied loads. The rubbing surfaces were measured by Energy-Dispersive X-ray Spectroscopy and Raman Spectroscopy. The results illustrated that GOPs entered the contact interfaces to prevent tribo-pairs from direct contact, which reduced the materials transfer, friction and wear.