Microvesicle-Embedded Solid-liquid Composite Coating for the Tribological Behavior Regulation and Long-Acting...

Area of Science:

• Materials Science
• Tribology
• Nanotechnology

Background:

• Mixed lubrication interfaces face challenges balancing lubricant mobility and solid matrix strength.
• Existing composite lubrication coatings struggle to optimize both easy shearing and wear resistance.
• Multicomponent, multiphase composites with reinforcing fillers are explored to overcome these limitations.

Purpose of the Study:

• To engineer a modified attapulgite (APT) with biphasic wettability for advanced composite lubrication.
• To investigate the role of modified APT in controlling lubricant droplet behavior and enhancing matrix strength.
• To evaluate the tribological performance and friction interface regulation enabled by the modified APT.

Main Methods:

• Modification of attapulgite (APT) using oil decompressive osmosis and grafting with long nonpolar alkyl chains.
• Construction of Pickering emulsions to control lubricant droplet size, distribution, and mobility.
• Dispersion strengthening of the solid matrix and analysis of tribofilm formation using density functional theory (DFT) calculations.

Main Results:

• Modified APT exhibits strong biphasic wettability, enabling precise control over lubricant droplets.
• The composite material demonstrates enhanced mechanical strength due to dispersion strengthening by APT.
• A solid tribofilm with high oil adsorption capacity is formed, confirmed by DFT calculations.
• Fracture of nanocontainers and bulk phase adsorption facilitate fluid film replenishment.

Conclusions:

• The modified attapulgite effectively regulates the friction interface in liquid-embedded composite lubrication.
• This approach leads to significantly reduced friction and wear, improving coating performance.
• The study presents a novel strategy for designing high-efficacy composite lubrication materials.