Tribological properties of Cu-based composites with S-doped NbSe2

In this study, S-doped NbSe2 (NbS0.2Se1.8) powders were fabricated, and the corresponding Cu-based composites (Cu/NbS0.2Se1.8) were obtained by powder metallurgy technique. The phase compositions, physical, and tribological properties of Cu-based composites were investigated systematically. The results show that Cu matrix reacts with NbS0.2Se1.8 to produce Cu2Se and Cu0.38NbS0.2Se1.8 during sintering process, which influences the physical and tribological properties of Cu-based composites significantly. Specially, with NbS0.2Se1.8 content increasing, the density of Cu/NbS0.2Se1.8 composites decreases, and the hardness increases firstly and then decreases, while the electric resistivity increases slightly. In addition, the incorporation of NbS0.2Se1.8 enhances the tribological properties of Cu greatly, which is attributed to the lubricating effect of Cu0.38NbS0.2Se1.8 and the reinforcement effect of Cu2Se. In particular, when the content of NbS0.2Se1.8 is 6 wt%, the Cu-based composite has the best tribological properties.