Self-lubricating properties of PTFE/serpentine nanocomposite against steel at different loads and sliding velocities

The influences of normal contact pressure and sliding velocity on self-lubricating property of PTFE-based composite filled with nano-serpentine particles were mainly studied in the range of 0.12–0.96 m/s and 1.43–8.55 MPa. For comparison, the friction and wear experiments of pure PTFE also were carried out under the same conditions. A scanning electron microscope (SEM) and energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS) were employed to examine the worn surfaces of PTFE/serpentine nanocomposite and transfer films. The experimental results showed that normal contact pressure and sliding velocity had significant effects on the tribological performances of PTFE/serpentine composite. Under different loads, the nanocomposite suffered from abrasive wear, fatigue wear and adhesive wear successively. And at different sliding velocity, the main wear mechanisms were abrasive wear and adhesive wear. SEM and EDS analyses indicated that the continuous and uniform transfer film generated on counterfaces acted as a solid lubricant, which was important to improve the self-lubricating property of PTFE/serpentine nanocomposite.