Fabrication of RGO/CNTs/MXene 3D skeleton structure for enhancing thermal and tribological properties of epoxy composites

In this study, the RGO/CNTs/MXene aerogel-epoxy composites (RCM-EP) were fabricated via freeze drying following by resin perfusion process. RCM aerogel with different pore sizes and morphologies were regulated by changing concentration of MXene. In addition, mechanical properties and thermal behaviors of EP composites with RCM and dispersed fillers were comparatively investigated. The results show that the RCM-EP have a better mechanical strength and thermal properties due to outstanding dispersion performance, interfacial bonding and spatial thermal conductivity network. Simultaneously, tribological test results revealed the wear rate and friction coefficient of EP were reduced by 83.5 % and 53.1 %, respectively, with the incorporation of RCM aerogel. The RCM aerogel inside the EP matrix could improve the bearing capacity of composites and inhibit the accumulation of friction heat via 3D inter-crosslinked network. Moreover, the RCM aerogel was slowly released and partici-pated in friction transfer during sliding process, constructing high-quality transfer film, which endowed the RCM -EP with distinguished tribological performance.