Abstract
The purpose of this work was to investigate the possible lubricating effects of aqueous dispersions of hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN) nano-sheets. The sheets consisted of 300. nm wide and sub-30. nm thick flakes, and concentrations containing 1, 0.05 or 0.01. wt% were synthesized without surfactants or with organic functionalization by means of bath sonication. Optical absorbance data for the h-BN dispersions revealed that nano-sheets remained stably dispersed in water for 30 days. The friction and wear of the clean aqueous dispersions were evaluated using a SiC ball sliding on a disk (Si wafer) arrangement. Results indicated that even small amounts of h-BN nano-sheets could enhance wear resistance and reduce friction coefficient. Also, 30 days after synthesis, the tribological properties of dispersions were not much degraded with time. Tribo-flims were observed to have formed on worn surfaces due to repeated exfoliation and deposition of h-BN nano-sheets during sliding. This process is believed responsible for the tribological improvements from aqueous dispersions. Accordingly, h-BN could be a promising "green" lubricant additive for water.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 981-986 |
| Number of pages | 6 |
| Journal | Wear |
| Volume | 302 |
| Issue number | 1-2 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - Apr 2013 |
Keywords
- Hexagonal boron nitride
- Lubricant additives
- Lubricated wear including scuffing
- Solid lubricants