Red phosphorus (P) was covalently attached to graphene nanosheets (Gr) using high-energy ball-milling under a nitrogen atmosphere. Benefiting from the formation of phosphate and P–O–C bonds on graphene surfaces, the resulting phosphorus–graphene (P–Gr) hybrids exhibited excellent dispersion stability in polyalkylene glycol (PAG) base oil compared with graphene. Moreover, tribological measurement indicated that addition of 1.0 wt% P–Gr into PAG resulted in significant reduction in friction coefficient (up to about 12%) and wear volume (up to about 98%) for steel/steel contact at 100 °C, which was likely due to the formation of a boundary lubrication film on the sliding surfaces during the friction and wear processes. XPS analysis demonstrated that the tribofilm is composed of FeO, Fe₃O₄, FeOOH, FePO₄, and the compounds containing C–O–C and P–O bonds.

In this article, calcium sulfonate complex grease with different polymorphs was acquired. With reference to the improved rolling stability test method, 5% and 10% water were added to the calcium sulfonate composite grease respectively. The influence of water on the flow and deformation characteristics of grease under external force was characterized by rheological analysis. Moreover, the influence of water on the tribological behaviors of grease was evaluated at 30 and 80 °C. The results indicate that water could affect the flow and deformation characteristics of calcium sulfonate complex grease in vaterite polymorph (CSCG-V) more than calcium sulfonate complex grease in calcite polymorph (CSCG-C), and CSCG-V could combine with water to form a more stable grease under external force. Tribological results also clearly show that CSCG-C with water shows better tribological properties than CSCG-V with water under harsh conditions. There was no significant difference in the components of the films that consisted of CaCO₃ and CaO regardless of grease within or without water. The improvement of tribological properties of CSCG-C with 5% and 10% water benefited from the influence of water on the film forming capacity of calcium carbonate on the steel surface.

Material failures caused by load impacts frequently result in significant economic losses and negative effects. The application expansion of shear thickening fluid (STF) under special impact conditions is expected to design a prospective impact-resistant structure due to its shear thickening effect with instantaneous response and reversible viscosity change. Herein, core-shell nanospheres (PS@ZIF-8) were synthesized using polystyrene (PS) nanoparticles as the base template. PS@ZIF-8 was used as the unique dispersed phase and introduced uniformly into hydroxyl-functionalized ionic liquids (ILs) by simple ball mill dispersion to obtain novel STF systems. The important performance of novel STF systems such as the critical shear viscosity and the peak viscosity could be enhanced with the increase in PS@ZIF-8 content. Importantly, the STF systems retained a significant shear thickening effect even after several shear scanning cycles due to the interaction between the dispersed phase (PS@ZIF-8) and the dispersion medium (ILs). The structural stability of PS@ZIF-8 in ionic liquids was also investigated, and the STF suspensions exhibited excellent stability in quantitative comparison experiments after centrifugal disruption at 8000 rpm and standing for 60 days. In addition, a loading impacts experimental method was developed to better investigate the anti-impact-wear performance of STF systems filled in a limited space. The outcomes of tests show that the novel STF systems had outstanding flexibility in energy absorption capacity and impact wear resistance. This study provided a strategy to prevent material failure under load impact and highlighted the potential of this novel STF systems for designing efficient and stable impact-resistant structures.