A morphological study of the effect of carbon nanotube filler on tribology of phenol/formaldehyde resin-based composites

Abstract

A morphological study was made on preparation of phenol/formaldehyde resin-based composites with carbon nanotube and their tribological properties. It was found that a dispersion of the carbon nanotubes in the matrix resin is obtained by mixing them in a highly viscous molten or concentrated state of the phenolic resin as was revealed by transmission electron microscopy. The friction and wear mechanisms of the neat phenolic resin and the nanocomposites are proposed based on the results obtained by morphological and mechanical measurements.