Graphene dispersion in hydrocarbon medium and its application in lubricant technology

Abstract

Graphene was prepared in a hydrocarbon oil medium through a mechano-chemical process. The resulting dispersion is a mixture of multilayer and single layer graphene as revealed by High Resolution Transmission Electron Microscopy (HRTEM) and Selected Area Electron Diffraction (SAED) studies. The dispersion yielded significant increase in the thermal conductivity with respect to the base oil. The inclusion of the graphene dispersion in grease instead of the traditionally used graphite improved the thermal conductivity value considerably, without deteriorating the tribological properties achieved from the pristine graphite system. A fully formulated lubricant inhibited with the said graphene dispersion showed excellent thermal dissipation and reduction in coefficient of friction over the neat lubricant. Spectro-analytical studies of the used test specimen of tribological test rig bear the signature peak of the graphene film, thus proving the lubrication efficiency of graphene in hydrocarbon medium.