Machining Characteristics of Graphene Oxide-Based Nanosuspensions in Abrasive Machining of Single-Crystal Si and SiC

Abstract

Single-crystal silicon (Si) and silicon carbide (SiC) are core semiconductor materials in communication, lighting, power generation, and transportation. However, their high hardness and wear resistance combined with low fracture toughness have posed significant challenges for high-efficiency and low-damage machining. Aqueous suspensions containing nanoparticle additives have recently been developed for sustainable manufacturing due to their satisfactory tribological performance and environmentally friendly nature. In this work, nanoadditives, including two-dimensional (2D) graphene oxide (GO) nanosheets and zero-dimensional (0D) diamond nanoparticles, were ultrasonically dispersed in water to formulate different GO-based nanosuspensions for achieving high-efficiency and low-damage abrasive machining. The experimental results indicated that GO nanosuspension was a suitable coolant for grinding Si, generating a ground surface of 32 nm in R_a, owing to its great lubricity and excellent resistance against mechanical abrasion. Diamond-GO hybrid nanosuspension demonstrated a synergistic effect in abrasion, lubrication and oxidation, which was thus appropriate for polishing SiC single crystals, leading to approximate 60% and 30% improvements in removal and roughness respectively, in comparison to a commercially available diamond suspension.

Keywords

GO-based nanosuspension / Brittle material / Abrasive machining / Lubrication / Abrasion / Oxidation

Author Contributions

Conceptualization, G.Z., S.L. and X.L.; Methodology, G.Z., S.L. and X.L.; Software, L.X. and B.G.; Validation, S.H., L.X. and B.G.; Formal Analysis, G.Z., S.L. and X.L.; Investigation, G.Z., S.L. and X.L.; Resources, S.H. and C.H.; Data Curation, D.Z.; Writing—Original Draft Preparation, G.Z. and S.L.; Writing—Review & Editing, S.H. and Y.W.; Visualization, G.Z., S.L. and X.L.; Supervision, S.H.; Project Administration, S.H.; Funding Acquisition, S.H. and L.X.

Ethics Statement

Not applicable.

Informed Consent Statement

Not applicable.

Funding

This work was funded by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (52305511). It was also partially funded by the Natural Science Foundation of Hebei Province (E2022203123), Hebei Province Foundation for Returned Scholars (C20220335) and Baosteel under the project (X2023213). LHX would like to acknowledge the Natural Science Foundation for Young Scientists of Hebei Province (E2022203125).

Declaration of Competing Interest

The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper.

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