Pressure-assisted synthesis of a polyaniline–graphite oxide (PANI–GO) hybrid and its friction reducing behavior in liquid paraffin (LP)

Abstract

Lubricating additives play an important role in reducing friction, which consumes a great deal of energy and causes wear, one of the main reasons for failure of a material. In this study, PANI–GO hybrids were prepared via a pressure-assisted method, whose structure and morphology were characterized and confirmed by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), elemental analysis, and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA). The tribological properties of PANI–GO as an additive for LP were investigated. Results show that PANI–GO can significantly enhance the anti-friction property of base oil at the optimum concentration of 0.012 wt%. At this concentration, the corresponding friction coefficient value is 0.055, which is reduced by 44% as compared to that of pure LP. Therefore, as a kind of novel additive, PANI–GO possesses high research value and promising application prospects as compared to traditional solid or liquid lubricating additives.