Atomically thin hydroxylation boron nitride nanosheets for excellent water‐based lubricant additives

Abstract Hexagonal Boron nitride (BN) can be used as a lubricant additive, which can dramatically reduce friction energy. However, due to the accumulation of BN in the water‐based lubricants and the difficulty of entering the friction contact area, the tribological performance of BN becomes worse. To address this issue, the atomically thin hydroxylated boron nitride nanosheets (HO‐BNNS) were successfully prepared. The thickness of HO‐BNNS is only 0.6‐0.8 nm. Meanwhile, the HO‐BNNS has excellent dispersion stability in water‐based lubricants because of the hydroxyl group on the surface of HO‐BNNS. The as‐prepared HO‐BNNS exhibits unique friction properties as a water‐based dispersible lubricant additive. Additionally, the average wear scar diameter, average friction coefficient, and mean wear volume of HO‐BNNS/water‐based (0.05 wt%) drop by about 64.7%, 60%, and 95.73%. Finally, the introduction of HO‐BNNS can well control the temperature of water‐based lubricant.