Investigation of the tribological properties: Core-shell structured magnetic Ni@NiO nanoparticles reinforced epoxy nanocomposites

Abstract Epoxy resin (EP) nanocomposites reinforced with core-shell structured magnetic Ni@NiO nanoparticles (NPs) were fabricated by using a surface wetting method. The mechanical and tribological properties of the varied EP nanocomposites were comparatively investigated. Results revealed that 5 wt.% Ni@NiO NPs was the optimal content for Ni@NiO/EP nanocomposites to achieve the best mechanical and tribological properties. The 5 wt.% Ni@NiO/EP nanocomposites exhibited 37.8%, 16.3% and a 22.2-fold increase in hardness, elastic modulus and wear resistance, respectively. Meanwhile, the effect of Ni@NiO NPs on the tribological properties of Ni@NiO/EP nanocomposites were also investigated by the observations of scanning electron microscopy (SEM).