The tribological potential of graphene growth from solid waste

Abstract

This study aimed to identify the tribological potential of graphene growth from solid waste products on copper substrate via the chemical vapour deposition method. The study focused on graphene growth from fruit cover plastic waste (FCPW) and oil palm fibre (OPF), the graphene structure was examined using Raman spectroscopy. Then, the tribological testing was performed using a ball-on-disc tribometer, and the hardness was performed using a nano-indenter on both the worn and unworn surfaces. The results show that graphene was successfully grown from both sources. Meanwhile, the tribological study found that both coatings showed a higher coefficient of friction (μ) compared to pure copper. However, the wear rate (k) was contradicted by the μ where the k was found to be 60% to 75% lower than pure copper. Finally, the hardness analysis revealed that the coating was damaged at 100 m sliding as the surface hardness increased.