Abstract
Although grease can effectively lubricate machines, lubrication failure may occur under high speed and heavy load conditions. In this study, Mn3O4/graphene nanocomposites (Mn3O4#G) were synthetized using a hydrothermal method as lubricant additives. The lubrication properties of compound grease with Mn3O4#G nanocomposite additive under heavy contact loads of 600–900 N (3.95–4.59 GPa) were investigated. First, the nanocomposites were dispersed into L-XBCEA 0 lithium grease via successive electromagnetic stirring, ultrasound vibration, and three-roll milling. Compound grease with additives of commercial graphene (Com#G) was also investigated for comparison. Tribological test results revealed that the trace amounts of Mn3O4#G (as low as 0.02 wt%) could reduce the coefficient of friction (COF) of grease significantly. When the concentration of Mn3O4#G was 0.1 wt%, the COF and wear depth were 43.5% and 86.1%, lower than those of pure graphene, respectively. In addition, under the effect of friction, the microstructure of graphene in Mn3O4#G nanocomposites tends to be ordered and normalized. Furthermore, most of the Mn3O4 transformed into Mn2O3 owing to the high temperature generated from friction. Using the Ar gas cluster ion beam sputtering method, the thickness of the tribofilm was estimated to be 25–34 nm. Finally, the improvement of the lubrication properties was attributed to the synergistic effect of the adsorbed tribofilm, i.e., the graphene island effect and the filling effect of Mn3O4#G.
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Acknowledgements
This work is supported by the National Key Research Program of China (973 Program) (No: 2014CB046404), the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 51905027), the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities (BUCTRC201908), and the Tribology Science Fund of State Key Laboratory of Tribology (SKLTKF18A02).
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Bao JIN. He received his bachelor degree in mechanical engineering from Jilin University, Changchun, China, 2019. He joined the State Key Laboratory of Tribology at Tsinghua University in 2019. He is currently studying for a master degree in mechanical engineering at Tsinghua University. His main research interest is lubrication modification.
Yongyong HE. He received his M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in mechanical engineering from Southeast University, Nanjing, China, in 1994 and 1997, respectively. He joined the State Key Laboratory of Tribology at Tsinghua University in 1999. His current position is as a professor and doctoral supervisor. His research areas cover the lubrication, material surface modification, and chemical mechanical polishing.
Jun ZHAO. He is an associate professor at the College of Mechanical and Electrical Engineering, Beijing University of Chemical Technology, China. He received his Ph.D. degree in mechanical engineering from Tsinghua University, China. His research interests are friction and wear, synthesis of advanced lubricating nanomaterials, and applications of antifriction and antiwear materials.
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Jin, B., Chen, G., Zhao, J. et al. Improvement of the lubrication properties of grease with Mn3O4/graphene (Mn3O4#G) nanocomposite additive. Friction 9, 1361–1377 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40544-020-0412-1
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s40544-020-0412-1