BLG-RGO: A novel nanoadditive for water-based lubricant

Abstract Attractive tribological performance made graphene(G)-based material great potential to be used as an effective nanoadditive in water-based lubricant. Herein, this paper put forward a facile, simple and environment-friendly method to modify the reduced graphene oxide (RGO) by β-lactoglobulin (BLG) noncovalently, accompanied with an in-depth investigation on the lubricating properties of BLG-RGO in water solution. The results indicated that the RGO decorated with BLG could stably disperse in water for a long time (>8 months) and exhibit excellent friction-reducing (∼37%) and anti-wear (∼45%) property. The outcome of this research implying that the BLG-RGO as potential green nanoadditives in water-based lubricant and thus may help in practical application by industry.