Abstract In this article, rare earth (RE)-modified carbon nanotubes (CNTs) were obtained by surface modification of multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) with rare earth LaCl3, and composite materials were prepared by using epoxy (EP) resin as the matrix. The modified CNTs were characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA). The tribological properties and thermal stability of the composites were tested using a multifunctional tribological tester and TGA. The surface wear morphology of the composite and the dispersion of the CNTs in the composite were characterized by scanning electron microscopy. Studies have shown that RE-modified CNTs can indirectly improve the initial decomposition temperature of the composites, which is beneficial to the thermal properties of the composites. Moreover, the modified CNTs can obviously improve the tribological properties of the composites, in particular, they can reduce the wear rate (WR). Compared to pure EP, the coefficient of friction (COF) and WR of the composites were reduced by over 19 and 90%, respectively.

中文翻译：

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LaCl3表面改性碳纳米管对碳纳米管-增强环氧树脂复合材料摩擦学性能和热稳定性的影响

摘要 本文采用稀土LaCl3对多壁碳纳米管(MWCNTs)进行表面改性得到稀土(RE)改性碳纳米管(CNTs)，并以环氧树脂(EP)树脂为基体制备复合材料。通过傅里叶变换红外光谱 (FTIR)、透射电子显微镜 (TEM)、X 射线光电子能谱 (XPS) 和热重分析 (TGA) 对改性后的碳纳米管进行表征。使用多功能摩擦学测试仪和 TGA 测试复合材料的摩擦学性能和热稳定性。通过扫描电子显微镜表征复合材料的表面磨损形态和复合材料中碳纳米管的分散情况。研究表明，稀土改性的碳纳米管可以间接提高复合材料的初始分解温度，这有利于复合材料的热性能。此外，改性的碳纳米管可以明显改善复合材料的摩擦学性能，特别是可以降低磨损率（WR）。与纯 EP 相比，复合材料的摩擦系数 (COF) 和 WR 分别降低了 19% 和 90% 以上。