Graphene oxide film as solid lubricant.

As a layered material, graphene oxide (GO) film is a good candidate for improving friction and antiwear performance of silicon-based MEMS devices. Via a green electrophoretic deposition (EPD) approach, GO films with tunable thickness in nanoscale are fabricated onto silicon wafer in a water solution. The morphology, microstructure, and mechanical properties as well as the friction coefficient and wear resistance of the films were investigated. The results indicated that the friction coefficient of silicon wafer was reduced to 1/6 its value, and the wear volume was reduced to 1/24 when using GO film as solid lubricant. These distinguished tribology performances suggest that GO films are expected to be good solid lubricants for silicon-based MEMS/NEMS devices.