Tribological behavior of PEEK-based materials under mixed and boundary lubrication conditions

•Tribology behavior of PEEK materials with diesel and oil lubrication was studied.•Formation of a tribofilm plays an important role on the tribology behavior.•PEEK materials exhibit much higher performance than a low alloy steel.

In modern industries, more and more mechanical components are exposed to mixed and even boundary lubrication conditions, inducing fast wear and even scuffing of the motion systems. In order to enhance the lifetime and reliability of the motion systems, replacing metal–metal friction pairs by metal–polymer ones can be one of the most effective approaches. The present work focuses on tribological behavior of pure polyetheretherketone (PEEK) and a formulated PEEK composite lubricated with diesel and engine oil. It was demonstrated that in mixed and boundary lubrication regimes the structure of PEEK materials affect significantly the tribological performance. Formation of a tribofilm on the surface of metallic counterbody plays an important role on the tribological behavior of the PEEK-based materials.