Mechanical and tribotechnical properties of polyimide based solid lubricant composites

Abstract

Mechanical and tribological properties of polyimide (PI) based composites with solid lubricant fillers (polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) and molybdenum disulfide) were studied at testing over various counterparts (metallic and ceramic). It is shown that PTFE is an efficient solid lubricant filler for polyimide which increases wear resistance of the composites up to 100 times as compared to neat polymer due to the formation of a transfer film on the metallic counterface. At the same time, despite its solid lubricating "status" molybdenum disulfide particles acts as microabrasive decreasing wear resistance under dry sliding friction, while at the content of 5 wt % MoS2 loading does not ensure maintenance of mechanical properties at the level of neat polymer. Two-component composite "PI + 15 wt % PTFE" is recommended as an efficient antifriction material for metal-polymer and ceramic-polymer friction pairs.