Friction and Wear Performance of Experimentally Developed Self-lubricating PPS/PTFE Composites

Abstract: Demanding applications, as well as the push to eliminate the need for fossil-fuel based lubricants, create the need for the development of high-performance polymers. Polyphenylene Sulfide (PPS) is an example of a high-performance polymer and has a high service temperature, good dimensional stability, and excellent chemical resistance. However, it has a low impact strength and is very brittle in neat form. Another high-performance polymer, Polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE), provides low friction in dry sliding conditions and can deposit polymer transfer films onto the counterface but exhibits high wear rates in neat form. To take advantage of the desirable characteristics of both polymers, PPS/PTFE-based composites were produced through the Injection Molding process. The individual disadvantages of these polymers were further improved by incorporating the following fillers: SCF, GO and CNT. The tribological performance under dry sliding conditions and two different loads were investigated as well as the microhardness and degree of crystallinity of the materials. The DSC results showed that the incorporation of reinforcements did not significantly alter the total degree of crystallinity in the material. PPS/PTFE and the composites have significantly lower specific wear rates and coefficient of friction values compared to neat PPS and PTFE. The composites have higher microhardness and friction coefficient values (60N and 100N) compared to PPS/PTFE. For both loads, composites SCFCNT, 5SCF and 10SCF had the lowest specific wear rates recorded where a synergistic effect between SCF and CNT has been observed. The filler loading content did not affect the friction performance of the composites in both loads. However, for composites with SCF as the only reinforcement, the increase in wt% content of SCF increased the specific wear rate at 60N and decreased the specific wear rate at 100N. SEM images of the pin surfaces show that the governing wear mechanisms in the polymer blend and composites are abrasive and adhesive wear. The reduction of the specific wear rate values is also accompanied by the improvement in the uniformity of the observed transfer film formation.