Tribological Performance of Graphite Nanoplatelets Reinforced Al and Al/Al(2)O(3) Self-Lubricating Composites

In the present work, the effect of graphite nanoplatelets (GNPs) on tribological properties of the aluminum (Al), and Al/alumina (Al(2)O(3)) composite are studied. GNPs are multilayer graphene sheets which were used as a solid lubricant material. Two sets of composites, Al/GNPs and Al/GNPs/Al(2)O(3) with varying amounts of reinforcements, were synthesized by powder metallurgy that involves cold compaction followed by hot compaction. The hardness of the composites increased with the addition of GNPs and Al(2)O(3). The Al/GNPs composite with 1 wt.% of GNPs (Al/1GNPs) showed a 20% increase in hardness whereas Al/GNPs/ Al(2)O(3) composite with 1 wt.% GNPs and 2 wt.% Al(2)O(3) (Al/1GNPs/2Al(2)O(3)) showed 27% increases in hardness compared to the pure Al. The coefficient of friction measured at 20 N was observed to be 22% and 53% lesser for Al/1GNPs and Al/1GNPs/2Al(2)O(3), respectively, compared to corresponding alloys without graphene Al. The X-ray diffraction and scanning electron microscopy analysis revealed the presence of GNPs at the worn surface after the tribology tests. The wear rate was also reduced significantly. In comparison with pure Al, the Al/1GNPs and Al/1GNPs/2Al(2)O(3) composites resulted in 5- and 20-times lesser wear rate, respectively. The addition of Al(2)O(3) caused reduction in wear rate due to higher hardness and load carrying ability, whereas composites with more than 1 wt.% GNPs showed higher wear rate due to lower hardness and higher porosity. The Al/1GNPs/2Al(2)O(3) composite exhibited the least coefficient of friction (0.2–0.25) and wear rate (1 × 10(−6)–4 × 10(−6) mm(3)/N.m) compared to other GNPs and Al(2)O(3) reinforced Al composites. The worn surfaces were further analyzed to understand the wear mechanism by Raman spectroscopy, transmission electron microscopy, and x-ray diffraction to detect the Al(4)C(3) phase formation, chemical bonding, and defect formation in graphene.