Probing the lubricative behaviors of a high MXene-content epoxy-based composite under dry sliding

In this work, a series of epoxy-based composites with high Ti3C2Tx MXene-content are successfully fabricated as the solid lubricant. With an optimized MXene-content of 70 wt%, the composite presents a dramatically reduced coefficient of friction (COF) to about 34% lower than that of the pure epoxy, which is as low as 0.39 at a normal loading of 5 N. Based on the evolution of surface morphology and chemical composition, the critical role of epoxy as a functional binder on forming the stably transferred tribofilm with good adhesion and lubricating performance is proposed. Additionally, the friction behaviors and lubrication mechanism of the Ti3C2Tx/epoxy composite are also presented, which is attributed to the gap-filling and sliding medium roles of the Ti3C2Tx nanoflakes.