Friction and Wear Behaviors of Solid Lubricants/Polyimide Composites in Liquid Mediums

The tribological properties of polyimide (PI) composites reinforced with graphite or MoS2 sliding in liquid alkali and water as well as dry friction were investigated using a ring-on-ring tester. The results show that the friction coefficient (μ) and wear rate (W) for both graphite/PI and MoS2/PI composites in different liquid mediums are μdry>μwater >μalkali and Wwater>Wdry >Walkali. Results also indicate that the friction coefficient and wear rate of the PI composites filled with different solid lubricants are μMoS2 >μgraphite and W MoS2 >Wgraphite in different liquid mediums. In addition, the hydrophobic inorganic fillers are fit for the reinforcement of polymer-based composites sliding in liquid mediums. It is also concluded from the authors’ work that the wear rate and friction coefficient of polymer-based (such as PI, PTFE) composites in the alkali lubricated conditions is lowest among all the friction conditions. This may be attributed to the ionic hydration in the alkaline solution.