Synergistic Lubricating Performance of h-BN/GF Nanoparticles as Oil Additives for Steel-Steel Contact

Abstract The major objective of this work is to investigate the synergistic lubricating performance of hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN) and graphite fluoride (GF) nanoparticles (NPs) in white oil. The tribological tests were carried out on steel-steel contacts using a reciprocating ball-on-disk tribometer. Compared with white oil, an addition of 0.1 wt% h-BN/GF could reduce the friction coefficient, wear-rate and wear depth by 41.1%, 89.1%, and 92.3%, respectively. Furthermore, compared with 0.1 wt% h-BN and 0.1 wt% GF, 0.1 wt% h-BN/GF nanocomposite also showed the best lubrication and wear resistance performances. The synergistic lubrication mechanism of h-BN/GF nanocomposite was investigated, and the unique microstructure of the h-BN/GF composite and the weak interfacial interaction between h-BN and GF were found to be beneficial to the formation of continuous and adhesive tribo-films at the interface.