Abstract
Polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) has been widely used as a lubrication additive for reducing friction and wear; however, the hydrophobic nature of PTFE restricts its application in eco-friendly water-based lubrication systems. In this study, for the first time, we designed novel PTFE@silica Janus nanoparticles (JNs) to meet the requirement for additives in water-based lubricants, which have excellent dispersion stability in water attributed to the unique amphiphilic structure. By introducing the lubrication of the aqueous dispersion of the JNs with a concentration of 0.5 wt%, the coefficient of friction (COF) and wear volume were reduced by 63.8% and 94.2%, respectively, comparing to those with the lubrication of pure water. Meanwhile, the JNs suspension also exhibits better lubrication and wear-resistance performances comparing to commercial silica and PTFE suspensions. The excellent tribological behaviors of PTFE@silica JNs as nano-additives could be attributed to the synergetic effect of the two components, where the PTFE provided lubrication through the formed tribofilms on the friction pairs, and the rigid silica further enhanced the wear-resistance performance. Most importantly, the unique structure of JNs makes it possible to use PTFE as an additive in water-lubrication systems. Our study shed light on the design and application of novel JNs nanomaterials as additives to meet the requirements of future industrial applications.
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Acknowledgements
This work was financially supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 52005287), Beijing Institute of Technology Research Fund Program for Young Scholars, the Tribology Science Fund of State Key Laboratory of Tribology (SKLT) in Advanced Equipment (No. SKLTKF21B14), and the Fund of Key Laboratory of Advanced Materials of Ministry of Education (No. ADV21-4). The authors acknowledge Analysis & Testing Center, Beijing Institute of Technology, for the use of the FIB.
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Yanfei LIU. He received his Ph.D. degree in mechanics from Harbin Engineering University, China, in 2018. Afterwards, he conducted his post-doctoral research at Tsinghua University, China (2018–2020). He is currently an assistant professor at School of Mechanical Engineering, Beijing Institute of Technology, China. His major research areas include nanocomposites, solid lubrication, solid–liquid superlubricity, and tribology theory.
Hailing HE. She received her Ph.D. degree in mechanics from Harbin Engineering University, China, in 2020. She conducted her post-doctoral research at Tsinghua University, China (2020–2022). She is currently an assistant professor at Applied Mechanics and Structure Safety Key Laboratory of Sichuan Province, School of Mechanics and Aerospace Engineering, Southwest Jiaotong University, China. Her major research areas include mechanics of nanocomposites and functional coating.
Wenzhong WANG. He received his Ph.D. degree in mechanical engineering from Tsinghua University, China, in 2003. He joined School of Mechanical Engineering, Beijing Institute of Technology, China, in 2006. His current position is a professor and director of the Department of Machine Design. His research areas cover modeling of lubricated contact problems, contact model for inhomogeneous and function gradient materials, dynamics of rolling bearing, and thermal analysis.
Fuxin LIANG. He received his Ph.D. degree from Institute of Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences (ICCAS), China, in 2011. He started his academic career at ICCAS, China, from assistant professor (2011–2013) to associate professor (2013–2017) to professor (2017–2019). In 2019, he joined Department of Chemical Engineering, Tsinghua University, China, as an associate professor. His research works focus on design of amphiphilic Janus materials and their applications in polymer composite such as polymer blends and functional coating.
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Liu, Y., He, H., Yang, M. et al. Novel concept of nano-additive design: PTFE@silica Janus nanoparticles for water lubrication. Friction 12, 258–270 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40544-023-0749-3
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s40544-023-0749-3