Improvement of tribological performance of TC11 alloy via formation of a double-layer tribo-layer containing graphene/Fe2O3 nanocomposite

Sliding friction and wear tests were performed for TC11 titanium alloy against AISI 52100 steel at room temperature and a low speed, with an addition of multilayer graphene (MLG)/Fe2O3 nanocomposites onto the sliding interface. A thin, stable double-layer tribo-layer composed of MLG-predominated and Fe2O3-predominated layers was inductively formed on the worn surface. It exerted a protective function for TC11 alloy to significantly reduce the friction and wear, which was attributed to the synergistic effect of lubricant MLG and load-bearing Fe2O3. As a comparison, however, the single-component tribo-layers were noticed to readily lose stability without protection and even accelerated friction or wear. The poor tribological performance of the titanium alloy was because tribo-layers lacks the load-bearing or lubricant capacity.