▎ 摘　　要

Graphene nano-platelets (GNP) were synthesised using a liquid phase exfoliation method and then used to produce well dispersed silica-GNP composites. The tribological properties of the silica-GNP composites with different vol% GNP loading were investigated. The wear behaviour at room temperature was studied using a ball on disc technique with alumina and borosilicate (BS) balls as the tribological counterpart. In the case of alumina balls, GNP above a critical concentration decreased the coefficient of friction of the composite by similar to 20% while increasing the wear resistance of the composite by similar to 5.5 times. In the case of using BS balls there was an improvement of similar to 8.5 times in the wear resistance while the coefficient of friction did not change. In both cases a percolating network of GNP above a critical concentration provided a lubricating effect to the silica matrix, resulting in a significant improvement in the tribological properties of the nano-composites. The extent of damage to GNP during tribology testing was quantified using Raman spectroscopy. (C) 2014 Elsevier Ltd and Techna Group S.r.l. All rights reserved.