Comparison of the Tribological Behaviour of Various Graphene Nano-Coatings as a Solid Lubricant for Copper
Source abstract
Abstract
Among the amazing properties of graphene, superlubricity is one of the most promising properties. This property can be used in industrial field components to reduce friction without using liquid lubricants, and therefore, improve machines’ efficiency and reliability with low environmental impact thanks to the elimination of oil or grease lubricants. In this paper, copper alloy samples for electrical purposes were coated with graphene by four different deposition processes. The investigated synthesis processes are direct grown graphene on bulk Cu, transferred graphene, and self-assembled graphene from graphene flakes. Ball-on-disk tests were performed to evaluate the tribological performance of samples. The aim was to compare the effect on the tribological performance given by different types of coatings, taking also into consideration industrial scalability. Interestingly, not all graphene nano-coatings being compared proved effective in reducing friction and wear in gross sliding conditions. The results show that the cost-effective self-assembled graphene is the longer-lasting nano-coating among those investigated in this work, and can reduce both friction and wear. Tests revealed that graphene coatings can be applied as a solid lubricant, reducing friction up to 78%, and reducing the average wear volume up to 40%.
Source: crossref · Quality: baseline
Research context
OpenAlex topics: Lubricants and Their Additives · Tribology and Wear Analysis · Diamond and Carbon-based Materials Research
SciVX discovery tags are terminology-based. OpenAlex topics are source-provided classifications.
Affiliations
Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, Politecnico di Torino, 10129 Torino, Italy
Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA
References (68)
Show source-provided references
1. Uzoma, P.C., Hu, H., Khadem, M., and Penkov, O.V. (2020). Tribology of 2D Nanomaterials: A Review. Coatings, 10.10.20944/preprints202008.0683.v1 ↗
2. Coatings for wear and lubrication10.1016/0040-6090(78)90222-5 ↗
3. An investigation of molybdenum disulfide bonded solid lubricant coatings in fretting conditions10.1016/S0257-8972(01)01194-X ↗
4. Friedrich, K., and Schlarb, A. (2011). Tribology of Polymeric Nanocomposites: Friction and Wear of Bulk Materials and Coatings, Elsevier.
5. Solid lubricants in machining10.1177/1350650111398172 ↗
6. Graphite-based solid lubricant for high-temperature lubrication10.1007/s40544-020-0456-2 ↗
7. Fretting wear behavior of brass/copper-graphite composites as a contactor material under electrical contact10.1016/j.ijmecsci.2020.105703 ↗
8. Influence of Wear Test Parameters on the ElectricalContact Performance of Brass Alloy/Copper Contactors under Fretting Wear10.1007/s11665-018-3821-9 ↗
9. Effect of laser shock peening without coating on fretting corrosion of copper contacts10.1016/j.apsusc.2020.145917 ↗
10. Siddaiah, A., Kasar, A.K., Khosla, V., and Pradeep, L. (2019). Menezes, In-Situ Fretting Wear Analysis of Electrical Connectors for Real System Applications. J. Manuf. Mater. Process., 3.10.3390/jmmp3020047 ↗
11. Coatings clinic: Electrical properties II—Conductivity of solid coatings
12. Role of hybrid reinforcement of carbon nanotubes and graphene nanoplatelets on the electrical conductivity of plasma sprayed alumina coating10.1016/j.ceramint.2017.12.021 ↗
13. Graphene: A new emerging lubricant10.1016/j.mattod.2013.12.003 ↗
14. Graphene: Materials in the flatland (Nobel Lecture)10.1002/anie.201101502 ↗
15. Tribology of graphene: A review10.1007/s12541-014-0373-2 ↗
16. Friction force reduction for electrical terminals using graphene coating10.1088/1361-6528/abbddc ↗
17. Conductive and tribological properties of TiN-Ag composite coatings under grease lubrication10.1007/s40544-020-0373-4 ↗
18. Enhancing the mechanical, wear behaviour of copper matrix composite with 2V-Gr as reinforcement10.1177/1350650120960573 ↗
19. Investigation of mechanical and wear behaviour of graphene reinforced aluminium alloy 6061 metal matrix composite
20. Zaghloul, M.M.Y., Veidt, M., and Heitzmann, M.T. (2023). Mechanical and Tribological Performances of Thermoplastic Polymers Reinforced with Glass Fibres at Variable Fibre Volume Fractions. Polymers, 15.10.3390/polym15030694 ↗
21. Wear behaviour of polymeric materials reinforced with man-made fibres: A comprehensive review about fibre volume fraction influence on wear performance10.1177/07316844211051733 ↗
22. Investigation of tribological behaviours of graphene-coated journal bearing10.1080/17515831.2018.1488091 ↗
23. Durability and degradation mechanism of graphene coatings deposited on Cu substrates under dry contact sliding10.1016/j.carbon.2012.12.007 ↗
24. Extraordinary Macroscale Wear Resistance of One Atom Thick Graphene Layer10.1002/adfm.201401755 ↗
25. Few layer graphene to reduce wear and friction on sliding steel surfaces10.1016/j.carbon.2012.11.061 ↗
26. Tribological performance of few layer graphene on textured M2 steel surfaces10.1016/j.surfcoat.2016.04.031 ↗
27. Role of humidity in reducing sliding friction of multilayered graphene10.1016/j.carbon.2015.01.053 ↗
28. Alami, A.H., Aokal, K., Olabi, A.G., Alasad, S., and Aljaghoub, H. (2021). Applications of graphene for energy harvesting applic ations: Focus on mechanical synthesis routes for graphene production. Energy Sources Part A Recovery Util. Environ. Eff.10.1080/15567036.2021.1901804 ↗
29. Scalable production of graphene sheets by mechanical delamination10.1016/j.carbon.2010.05.003 ↗
30. Towards scale-up of graphene production via nonoxidizing liquid exfoliation methods10.1002/aic.16174 ↗
31. Large-scale production of high-quality graphene sheets by a non-electrified electrochemical exfoliation method10.1016/j.carbon.2017.10.071 ↗
32. Graphene formation by unzipping carbon nanotubes using a sequential plasma assisted processing10.1016/j.carbon.2012.09.056 ↗
33. Mass-production of highly-crystalline few-layer graphene sheets by arc discharge in various H 2-inert gas mixtures10.1016/j.cplett.2012.04.020 ↗
34. Micropatterning of graphene sheets by inkjet printing and its wideband dipole-antenna application10.1002/adma.201100345 ↗
35. Evolution of Graphene Growth on Ni and Cu by Carbon Isotope Labeling10.1021/nl902515k ↗
36. Large-scale pattern growth of graphene films for stretchable transparent electrodes10.1038/nature07719 ↗
37. Large-Area Ultrathin Graphene Films by SingleStep Marangoni Self-Assembly for Highly Sensitive Strain Sensing Application10.1002/adfm.201504717 ↗
38. Effect of different types of graphene coatings on friction and wear performance of aluminum alloy10.1080/15376494.2020.1779419 ↗
39. Investigation about tribological behavior of ABS and PC-ABS polymers coated with graphene10.1016/j.triboint.2019.02.017 ↗
40. Graphene coatings to enhance the tribological performance of steel10.1080/15376494.2019.1582825 ↗
41. Solid Lubricants of Combined Graphene and Iron Nanoparticles for Study of Friction and Stability10.1021/acs.langmuir.1c03075 ↗
42. Graphene as solid lubricant vertically buried into iron contact surface by annealing for superlubricity10.1016/j.triboint.2021.107288 ↗
43. Copper ions cross-linking graphene oxide nanosheet coatings towards robust solid lubricants10.1016/j.diamond.2022.109453 ↗
44. Tribology of Copper Metal Matrix Composites Reinforced with Fluorinated Graphene Oxide Nanosheets: Implications for Solid Lubricants in Mechanical Switches10.1021/acsanm.3c00399 ↗
45. Dissipation Mechanisms and Superlubricity in Solid Lubrication by Wet-Transferred Solution-Processed Graphene Flakes: Implications for Micro Electromechanical Devices
46. Preparation and tribological properties of multi-layer graphene/silicon dioxide composites-based solid lubricant coatings at elevated temperatures10.1098/rsos.220740 ↗
47. Tribocorrosion behavior of graphene-based solid lubricants biofunctionalized with hyaluronic acid on CoCr surfaces10.1016/j.triboint.2023.108420 ↗
48. Pham, V. (2018). Direct Growth of Graphene on Flexible Substrates toward Flexible Electronics: A Promising Perspective. arXiv.10.5772/intechopen.73171 ↗
49. A rational strategy for graphene transfer on substrates with rough features10.1002/adma.201505527 ↗
50. (2023, February 28). Copper Bars and Accessories. Available online: https://www.italweber.it/files/catalogue/pdf/14_Isoflex.pdf.
51. Chemical vapor deposition synthesis of graphene on copper with methanol, ethanol, and propanol precursors10.1016/j.carbon.2011.05.054 ↗
52. Preparation and tribological study of functionalized graphene-IL nanocomposite ultrathin lubrication films on Si substrates10.1021/jp111804a ↗
53. A comparative study of graphene growth by APCVD, LPCVD and PECVD10.1088/2053-1591/aab7b4 ↗
54. Tribological Behaviour of Graphene Coated Bearing Steel (EN31)10.1088/1742-6596/1240/1/012040 ↗
55. Reduced wear and friction enabled by graphene layers on sliding steel surfaces in dry nitrogen10.1016/j.carbon.2013.03.006 ↗
56. (2022). HertzWin, 3.3.1, Vink System Design & Analysis.
57. Leach, R. (2013). Characterisation of Areal Surface Texture, Springer.10.1007/978-3-642-36458-7 ↗
58. Waterworth, A. (2006). Quantitative Characterisation of Surface Finishes on Stainless Steel Sheet Using 3D Surface Topography Analysis. [Ph.D. Thesis, University of Huddersfield].
59. Genta, G., and Maculotti, G. (2021). Uncertainty evaluation of small wear measurements on complex technological surfaces by machine vision-aided topographical methods. CIRP Ann., in press.10.1016/j.cirp.2021.04.057 ↗
60. Uncertainty-based comparison of conventional and surface10.1016/j.triboint.2021.107260 ↗
61. Gwyddion: An open-source software for SPM data analysis
62. Graphene Oxide Film as Solid Lubricant10.1021/am401495y ↗
63. Anisotropic Friction of Wrinkled Graphene Grown by Chemical Vapor Deposition10.1021/acsami.7b00711 ↗
64. Formation of Ripples in Graphene as a result of Interfacial Instabilities10.1021/nn202972f ↗
65. Comanescu, C. (2016, January 10–12). Single layer graphene Raman bands modifications as result of transfer from copper foil to oxidized silicon or quartz substrates. Proceedings of the 2016 International Semiconductor Conference (CAS), Sinaia, Romania.10.1109/SMICND.2016.7783035 ↗
66. Microscopic Mechanisms Behind the High Friction and Failure10.1021/acs.langmuir.1c00862 ↗
67. Frictional Characteristics of Atomically Thin Sheets10.1126/science.1184167 ↗
68. A novel approach to decrease friction of graphene10.1016/j.carbon.2017.03.042 ↗