Improvement of the thermal conductivity and tribological properties of polyethylene by incorporating functionalized boron nitride nanosheets

The heat generated by friction and wear between contact surfaces is detrimental to the performance of polymeric materials due to the low thermal conductivity of polymer materials. This work presents the effect of boron nitride (BN) nanosheets on the thermal and tribological properties of polyethylene (PE) materials. The molecular interaction between BN nanosheets and PE matrix was enhanced by functionalizing BN nanosheets with silane functional groups. It was observed that adding just 5 wt% silane modified BN (sBN) nanosheets can increase the thermal conductivity of PE materials by 33% and minimizes the generation of hot spots due to fast heat dissipation. In addition, the wear rate is reduced by 35% in PE-sBN composites in comparison to PE materials. •Molecular interaction between BN nanosheets and polyethyelene can be increased by functionalizing BN nanosheets.•The addition of BN nanosheets increases thermal conductivity of composites by forming heat-conducting paths.•The improved thermal properties of polymer composites facilitate in a reduction of wear rate and coeffient of friction.•3D topography of single-line scratches shows smaller wear depths and narrower wear tracks of composites compared to PE.•Wear mechanism is investigated by studying morphology and spectroscopy of worn surface and tribofilm.