Simultaneously enhanced friction and wear resistances of epoxy nanocomposites modified by nickel phyllosilicate nanoflowers under wet sliding conditions

Abstract High‐quality friction and wear resistances are very important for epoxy resin (EP) when serving as construction and coating materials. Herein, in this study, a series of nickel phyllosilicate (NiPS) nanoflowers filled EP were fabricated, and then their mechanical responses, hydrophilicity and tribological properties under wet sliding were examined thoroughly. Results showed that the compressive strength of as‐prepared nanocomposites increased first and then decreased, achieving a maximum value of 280.05 MPa at 5% filler, while the elastic modulus, hardness and hydrophilicity were all improved monotonously with elevated filler content. The presence of NiPS nanoflowers enhanced the wet‐lubricated tribological properties considerably. Both the average friction coefficient and wear rate presented similar anti‐parabolic change trends with the lowest values of 0.166 and 0.82 × 10⁻⁶ mm³/Nm obtained at 5% and 3%, which were 25.6% and 20.9% lower than pure EP, respectively. Further investigations confirmed that a relatively high applied load and sliding speed also promoted improved water‐lubricated tribological properties, suggesting a giant potential for the resulting EP nanocomposites to work safely as instrumental components under harsh conditions.