Fabrication and assessment of dry sliding behavior of Ti3C2Tx-MXene reinforced nickel aluminide composites

MXene has been recognized globally for its ability to act as a solid lubricant, lubricant additive, and protective coating for enhancing the performance and longevity of dynamics systems. Ni₃Al matrix composites have been fabricated through spark plasma sintering with varying Ti₃C₂T_x-MXene concentrations and slid against the Si₃N₄ ball to evaluate the lubrication potential at atmospheric conditions. The addition of MXene in the matrix has improved anti-friction and anti-wear properties attributed to the formation of a tribo-layer on encountering surfaces consisting of oxides and MXene’s fragments, as confirmed by TEM and Raman spectroscopy. However, further increasing MXene to 20 % led to an increase in friction, ascribed to the dominance of the hard TiC phase, which acts as a barrier for tribo-layer formation.