Research progress of surface-modified graphene-based materials for tribological applications

Abstract Graphene’s many excellent properties have cemented it as an essential research topic in materials science and beyond. It is widely used in photoelectric materials, sensors, battery electrode materials, composites, and so on. Graphene has attracted particular attention in the field of tribology. However, graphene agglomerates easily, limiting its performance when used directly. Therefore, considerable research has focused on methods of modifying the surface of graphene to improve its tribological performance, by improving the dispersion stability, friction reduction, wear resistance, or a combination of these. This paper focuses on the research progress of surface modification of graphene-based materials for tribological applications. According to the reaction principles, surface modification methods can be divided into covalent surface modification, noncovalent surface modification, and surface modification by nanoparticles doping. Herein, the typical reaction processes of these modification methods and the anti-wear mechanism of modified graphene-based materials are introduced, and current research on the surface modification of graphene used in tribology is discussed.