Facile fabrication of hierarchical carbon fiber–MoS2 ultrathin nanosheets and its tribological properties

Abstract

A novel lubricating material of hierarchical carbon fiber–MoS₂ ultrathin nanosheets (CF–MoS₂) was fabricated by one-step hydrothermal solution reaction method. The corresponding phase composition, morphology and formation mechanism were systematically determined by XRD, FESEM and TEM. And the effects of CF–MoS₂ on the tribological properties of epoxy (EP) were investigated comparatively using universal micro-tribotester-2 (UMT-2). Results showed that MoS₂ ultrathin nanosheets with the thickness of 5–8 nm and size of 300–500 nm were synthesized successfully. And several MoS₂ nanosheets assembled together in flower-like shape and were attached onto CF surface uniformly. Furthermore, the XRD pattern analysis of as-prepared CF–MoS₂ confirmed that MoS₂ was in the form of hexagonal phase. Besides, the shore hardness of EP matrix was improved obviously by the incorporation of CF–MoS₂, suggesting the load-carrying capacity of EP was enhanced. More importantly, EP/CF–MoS₂ composite had much better tribological properties than EP and other EP-based composites (EP/CF and EP/MoS₂) because of the reinforcement effect of CF and lubricating effect of MoS₂. In particular, EP/CF–MoS₂ composite still possessed good friction-reducing and anti-wear properties under heavy loads. Namely, hierarchical CF–MoS₂ was a promising additive to be used in tribology field.