Macroscale superlubricity by a sacrificial carbon nanotube coating
Abstract
Superlubricity, i.e., coefficient of friction (COF) below 0.01, was earlier limited to microscale in controlled environments in the earlier literature and more recently realized for macroscale sliding of ceramic or carbon surfaces lubricated by water or other polar fluids. However, there is lack of report of superlubricity for the most common bearing system, i.e., steel-steel contact in non-polar oil lubrication. Here, in this work, we present ultra-low COF of 0.001–0.007 by using a sacrificial coating composed of vertically-aligned carbon nanotubes (CNTs) for macroscale steel-steel sliding under minimum quantity lubrication (MQL) of a polyalphaolefin (PAO) oil in the ambient environment. Raman spectroscopy and electron microscopy analyses detected graphene-containing tribofilms on both the steel surfaces, which was produced by the fractured CNT flakes and metallic wear debris during running-in. The in situ formed graphene-graphene contact interface presumably possesses a low shear resistance leading to superlubricity. The presence of oil, despite as little as one droplet, has proven to be crucial. Such a superlubricity performance has shown good sustainability in extended testing of more than 500,000 cycles and strong ability of accommodating changes in sliding conditions. Results here demonstrate feasibility with fundamental insights for achieving ambient environment macroscale superlubricity.
- Publication Date:
- Research Org.:
- Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States)
- Sponsoring Org.:
- USDOE Laboratory Directed Research and Development (LDRD) Program; USDOE Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE), Renewable Power Office. Solar Energy Technologies Office; USDOE Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE), Office of Sustainable Transportation. Vehicle Technologies Office (VTO)
- OSTI Identifier:
- 1994740
- Grant/Contract Number:
- AC05-00OR22725
- Resource Type:
- Accepted Manuscript
- Journal Name:
- Materials Today Nano
- Additional Journal Information:
- Journal Volume: 21; Journal ID: ISSN 2588-8420
- Publisher:
- Elsevier
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
- Subject:
- 36 MATERIALS SCIENCE; CNTs; Steel-steel sliding; Graphene; Ultra-low friction; Minimum quantity lubrication
Citation Formats
Kumara Ihala Gamaralalage, Chanaka, Lance, Michael J., and Qu, Jun. Macroscale superlubricity by a sacrificial carbon nanotube coating. United States: N. p., 2022.
Web. doi:10.1016/j.mtnano.2022.100297.
Kumara Ihala Gamaralalage, Chanaka, Lance, Michael J., & Qu, Jun. Macroscale superlubricity by a sacrificial carbon nanotube coating. United States. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.mtnano.2022.100297
Kumara Ihala Gamaralalage, Chanaka, Lance, Michael J., and Qu, Jun. Fri .
"Macroscale superlubricity by a sacrificial carbon nanotube coating". United States. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.mtnano.2022.100297. https://www.osti.gov/servlets/purl/1994740.
@article{osti_1994740,
title = {Macroscale superlubricity by a sacrificial carbon nanotube coating},
author = {Kumara Ihala Gamaralalage, Chanaka and Lance, Michael J. and Qu, Jun},
abstractNote = {Superlubricity, i.e., coefficient of friction (COF) below 0.01, was earlier limited to microscale in controlled environments in the earlier literature and more recently realized for macroscale sliding of ceramic or carbon surfaces lubricated by water or other polar fluids. However, there is lack of report of superlubricity for the most common bearing system, i.e., steel-steel contact in non-polar oil lubrication. Here, in this work, we present ultra-low COF of 0.001–0.007 by using a sacrificial coating composed of vertically-aligned carbon nanotubes (CNTs) for macroscale steel-steel sliding under minimum quantity lubrication (MQL) of a polyalphaolefin (PAO) oil in the ambient environment. Raman spectroscopy and electron microscopy analyses detected graphene-containing tribofilms on both the steel surfaces, which was produced by the fractured CNT flakes and metallic wear debris during running-in. The in situ formed graphene-graphene contact interface presumably possesses a low shear resistance leading to superlubricity. The presence of oil, despite as little as one droplet, has proven to be crucial. Such a superlubricity performance has shown good sustainability in extended testing of more than 500,000 cycles and strong ability of accommodating changes in sliding conditions. Results here demonstrate feasibility with fundamental insights for achieving ambient environment macroscale superlubricity.},
doi = {10.1016/j.mtnano.2022.100297},
journal = {Materials Today Nano},
number = ,
volume = 21,
place = {United States},
year = {Fri Dec 16 00:00:00 EST 2022},
month = {Fri Dec 16 00:00:00 EST 2022}
}
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