Effect of the additive graphene oxide on tribological properties of WC-Co cemented carbide

Abstract

This article is to devoted to investigate the effect of graphene oxide (GO) on the mechanical and tribological properties on WC-Co cemented carbide. Based on the microstructure and morphology of wear surface, it is found that the addition of GO has little effect on the densification process and the grain size of cemented carbide, thus hardly weakening the hardness, while the fracture toughness has been improved 29.1%. Both friction coefficient and specific wear rate have been significantly decreased due to the added GO. The bridging mechanism caused by GO is considered to be the main reason for the toughening effect in cemented carbide. Increasing fracture toughness by the added GO during sintering is noticed to significantly enhance the anti-wear performance of WC-Co cemented carbide. The effect of fracture toughness on wear resistance should be attributed to the added GO preventing the cobalt binder phase from occurring the combination of plastic deformation and micro-abrasion, and hindering the crack propagation of WC grains during sliding.