Study on the effect of the addition of bulk and exfoliated graphitic carbon nitride on the dry sliding behavior of a commercial friction material formulation through pin on disc and subscale dynamometer analysis

A novel analysis was conducted on the friction and wear properties of a commercial friction material formulation with the addition of bulk (named: gCN) and exfoliated (named: TEX6) graphitic carbon nitride in varying quantities: 4.5, 9, 13.5, and 18 wt%. The analysis was two-fold. In the first part, the samples were tested in the form of pins on a pin on disc testing equipment. The typical trend was that the friction coefficient magnitude increased with the addition of gCN. On the other hand, the friction coefficient decreased with the TEX6 addition. The pin wear reduced with the addition of gCN until 9 wt%. Beyond this amount, an increase in pin wear was observed. The TEX6 samples generally noted a decrease in pin wear with the increase in its content. An improvement in the characteristics of the secondary plateaus was seen with the increase in both gCN and TEX6 content. Through this study, the 13.5 wt% addition of both gCN and TEX6 was considered to display permissible friction and wear magnitude, and desirable extension and compaction of secondary contact plateaus. In the second part of the study, the formulation with 13.5 wt% of gCN and TEX6 was tested on a subscale dynamometer to replicate a real-life braking scenario. The friction and wear magnitudes were similar to the pin on disc study and the extension of the secondary contact plateaus was better than the virgin formulation. This study provides a complete analysis of the feasibility of the inclusion of g-C3N4 variations in automotive braking applications.