Preparation and Wear Resistance Analysis of Graphene Engine Oil Improver

Abstract

In order to improve the dispersibility of graphene in engine oil, the in - situ reduction method was adopted, so the complicated processes such as reduction of graphene oxide, freeze - drying and grinding operation to obtain powder were omitted, and the production cost was cut. The graphite oxide was reduced with the help of the reducibility of the base oil to produce a fine - sized, uniformly dispersed graphene engine oil improver. Furthermore, in the preparation process of the graphene oxide engine oil improver, anhydrous ethanol was used to wash the graphene oxide in the second half of the centrifugal washing process of graphene oxide, which greatly improved the dispersion of the graphene in the base oil. In the reduction process of graphene oxide, vitamin C was used as the reduction initiator, making the process environmentally friendly. Results obtained from the friction and wear test carried out on the MS - T3000 friction and wear instrument showed that when the graphene nanoparticle used as lubricant additive, the typical sheet structure and curl morphology of graphene could be observed on the surface of the attached object, indicating that "miniature ball bearing effect" was realized due to the addition of graphene, and thus a good solid lubrication effect was obtained. A large amount of graphene attaching to the metal surface reduced the shedding of the hard phases of the metal surface, protected the metal surface together with the engine oil and significantly improved the friction and wear properties of engine oil, therefore, showed significant effect on reducing the wear on automobile engines.

Keywords

• graphene|friction and wear properties|automobile engine|engine oil additive