Wear Behavior of Graphene-Reinforced Alumina–Silicon Carbide Whisker Nanocomposite

Abstract

In the present work, the tribological properties of graphene-reinforced Al2O3-SiCw ceramic nanocomposites fabricated by spark plasma sintering were studied against alumina ball. Compared with pure ceramic, the wear resistance of these nanocomposites was approximately two times higher regardless of the applied load. It was confirmed by Raman spectroscopy that the main factor for the improvement of the wear resistance of the Al2O3-SiCw/Graphene materials was related to the formation of protecting tribolayer on worn surfaces, which leads to enough lubrication to reduce both the friction coefficient, and wear rate.