The influence of multiple fillers on friction and wear behavior of epoxy composite coatings

Optimized design of polymeric composites that are comprised of polymers and commonly used fillers forms one of the key focuses in this community since it may enhance the feasibility of real applications in industries. In this work, we produced three different epoxy composite coatings through filling the diamond, SiC, MoS2 and graphite. Then, the influence of these fillers on friction and wear performance of the composite coating is investigated. Comparison of the net epoxy (EP), the fracture toughness and young's modulus of the epoxy composite coatings (GME) can be 37.4 GPa and 4.3GPa, respectively, much higher than those of unfilled EP, i.e. 25.45 GPa and 3.75 GPa. More importantly, inclusion of multiple fillers can significantly reduce the wear rate and frictional coefficient of the GME. They are mainly because the graft treatment of the diamond and SiC dispersed uniformly in EP leads to a strong interface between the particles and matrix, making GME showing higher mechanical properties. Furthermore, due to the lubricant fillers-MoS2 and graphite, a continuous and thick lubricant film were observed on the worn surface of the GME, which can effectively decrease the friction heating and further damage to the matrix. Therefore, the strategy presented here is a valid method to create positive synergetic effect of different fillers, which can serve as an important guidance for rational design of the epoxy composite coatings towards in further industrial applications. •The coatings have wear-resisting anti-friction properties under larger stress.•Multiple particles can be well dispersed and have synergistic effects after surface modification, including diamond, silicon carbide, molybdenum disulfide and graphite.