The Synthesis of Cu-Coated Ti2SnC Ceramic and Its Tribological Behaviors as a Lubricant Additive

Abstract

Lubricant additive plays an important role in reducing the friction and wear for base oil. MAX phase ceramics may have superior advantages for additive application due to their unique nanolayered structure. In this paper, Ti2SnC ceramic is prepared by sintering the elemental mixtures at 1250 °C. In addition, Cu-coated Ti2SnC ceramic is successfully prepared using a chemical plating method for the first time. It is confirmed that the Ti2SnC ceramic has good self-catalytic activity, and a layer of stacking Cu nano-particles can be deposited on the Ti2SnC surface without pretreatment. When the Cu-coated Ti2SnC ceramic powder is doped into PAO10 base oil, the oil can exhibit excellent lubrication properties, where the friction coefficient is as low as 0.095. A layer of tribo-film can be formed during the sliding process when the Cu-coated Ti2SnC ceramic is incorporated into PAO10 base oil, which can reduce the friction coefficient. The superior lubrication properties can be attributed to the synergistic lubrication effect of Ti2SnC ceramic and Cu nano-particles.