Tribological performances of hexagonal boron nitride nanosheets via surface modification with silane coupling agent
Lixia Wang, Yufeng Bai, Zhiyan Ma, Chunhua Ge, Hongyu Guan, Xiangdong Zhang
Abstract
Abstract Hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN) is a promising lubricant additive for decreasing wear and friction. However, the poor dispersion stability and bulky size of h-BN restricted its lubrication application. In this paper, bulk h-BN was exfoliated into h-BN nanosheets (h-BNNSs), and then the self-made h-BNNSs were chemically modified with silane coupling agent via a facile and scalable reaction method. The morphology and structure of surface-functionalized h-BNNSs (m-BNNSs) were certified using a series of characterizations. Results revealed that h-BNNSs could be chemically well capped by surface modifier and the lipophilic groups were covalently attached to h-BNNSs surfaces. The m-BNNSs composite possessed long-term dispersion in liquid paraffin (LP). At the optimal adding content of 0.6 wt%, coefficient of friction and wear volume of m-BNNSs composite were decreased by about 31.9% and 53.8% compared with those of LP, respectively. Therefore, m-BNNSs composite as a lubricating oil additive has high research value and good prospects of lubrication applications.