Enhanced tribological performance of epoxy nanocomposites by the hybridization of 2D nano‐WS2 and graphene oxide nanosheets

Abstract Incorporation of 2D nanofillers can effectively improve tribological performance of epoxy resin (EP). In this work, two types of 2D nanosheets are incorporated to maximize the tribological performance of EP nanocomposites. On the one hand, nano tungsten disulfide (WS 2 ) was coated on graphene oxide (GO) to form 2D WS 2 @GO nanosheets before they were incorporated into EP matrix. On the other hand, as a comparison, WS 2 ‐GO hybrid was incorporated into EP matrix by directly mixing to obtain epoxy nanocomposites. Tribological performance of EP composites with 0.1–5 wt% 2D WS 2 @GO nanosheets and WS 2 ‐GO hybrid are then systematically investigated. It is interestingly observed that the addition of WS 2 ‐GO hybrid at 1 wt% decreases the friction coefficient by 5.4% and the specific wear rate by 67.7% of neat EP; comparatively, adding the 2D WS 2 @GO nanosheets at 1 wt% presents much higher improvements in reducing the friction coefficient by 24.1% and the specific wear rate by about 96.3% of EP. The formation of transfer film is shown to be responsible for enhancing tribological properties of EP by the hybridization of 2D nano‐WS 2 and GO nanosheets. Consequently, it is clear that forming 2D WS 2 @GO nanosheets is dramatically superior to simply mixing nano WS 2 and GO with EP in enhancing tribological performance.