Ti3C2/graphene oxide heterostructural coating with enhanced dry tribological performance

Ti3C2/Graphene Oxide (GO), a heterostructural solid lubricant with a self-lubricating performance at both ambient air and dry nitrogen atmosphere, has been investigated. At ambient atmosphere, both the coefficient of friction (COF) and wear rate for Ti3C2/GO coatings show a comparable self-lubricating effect to GO samples. The Ti3C2/GO coatings exhibit significantly four times lower COF alongside 100 times lower wear rate than individual GO coatings, respectively, at the dry nitrogen atmosphere. The mechanism of anti-wear and friction reduction could be attributed to the enhanced stability of Ti3C2/GO heterostructural coating during the sliding process, which continuously generates transferred film and evenly distributed tribo-layer inside wear track at dry nitrogen atmosphere, suppressing the occurrence of abrasive and adhesion.