Tribological properties of Ti3C2Tx MXene reinforced interpenetrating polymers network coating

Abstract Multiple advantages of Ti3C2Tx MXene are of significance to enhance the mechanical properties of organic coating. Herein, few-layer amino-functionalized Ti3C2Tx nanosheets (k-Ti3C2) were introduced into interpenetrating polymers network (IPN) for constructing k-Ti3C2/IPN composite coatings, and their tribological properties were investigated in depth. The composite coating with 0.75 wt% k-Ti3C2 nanosheets displays excellent tribological behaviors under extremely operating conditions, like the lowest COF (0.18) and the highest OCP value (−0.28 V) under tribocorrosion condition. Such excellent tribological properties mainly depend on good dispersion and interfacial compatibility of k-Ti3C2 nanosheets in IPN matrix, as well as amino functionalized Ti3C2Tx nanosheets as barrier to external damage. This work highlights a pathway to solve the wear/corrosion problem of organic coatings under extreme conditions.