Interfacial structure and tribological behaviours of epoxy resin coating reinforced with graphene and graphene oxide

Graphene (G) and graphene oxide (GO) were added into epoxy resin (EP) respectively via chemical modification and physical ultrasound technology to improve the tribological behaviour of EP coating. The topographies of G and GO were detected by scanning probe microscopy. The chemical structures of the fillers before and after modification were identified by Fourier transform infrared spectrometer. The across‐section topographies of the coatings were detected by scanning electron microscopy. The tribological behaviour of the coatings was evaluated by UMT‐3 tribology tester, surface profiler and scanning electron microscopy. The results revealed that the coefficient of friction of the coatings decreased, and the wear resistance of the coatings improved with the addition of the G and GO. GO could improve the tribological performance of EP further compared to G. When containing 0.5 wt% G and 0.75 wt% GO, the coatings had the lowest coefficient of friction and best wear resistance. When the contents of G reached 0.75 wt%, and GO reached 1 wt%, the tribological performance of the composite coatings decreased as a result of the agglomeration of the fillers. Finally, the anti‐friction and anti‐wear mechanisms of G‐EP and GO‐EP composite coatings were discussed in detail based on the results obtained in the preceding texts. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.