Friction and wear behavior of polytetrafluoroethene composites filled with Ti3SiC2

• The wear resistance was improved 100× over unfilled PTFE when adding 1 wt.% Ti3SiC2.
• The 10 wt.% sample reached the lowest wear rate of 2.1 × 10−6 mm3/Nm.
• Ti3SiC2/PTFE composites show better wear resistance than graphite/PTFE composites.
• Ti3SiC2 can speed up the formation of the transfer film and the oxide film.

In this work, polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) composites filled with Ti3SiC2 or graphite were prepared through powder metallurgy. The effects of different filling components, loads and sliding velocities on the friction performance of Ti3SiC2/PTFE composites were studied. Ti3SiC2/PTFE composites exhibit better wear resistance than graphite/PTFE composites due to the better mechanical properties of Ti3SiC2. The wear resistance was found to improve around 100× over unfilled PTFE with the addition of 1 wt.% Ti3SiC2. In addition, the 10 wt.% sample had the lowest wear rate of K = 2.1 × 10−6 mm3/Nm and the lowest steady friction coefficient with μ = 0.155 at the condition of 90 N–0.4 m/s. Ti3SiC2 was proved to promote the formation of a thin and uniform transfer film on counterpart surface and a protection oxide film on worn surface, which are the key roles for improving wear resistance.