Effects of titania on tribological and thermal properties of polymer/graphene nanocomposites

In most engineering applications where fluid lubrication is practically impossible such as high temperature environment, solid lubrication becomes an alternative option. Polymers such as polytetrafluoroethylene are often used for solid lubrication due to their ability to provide low friction on interfacial sliding conditions. However, polymeric materials often show low wear resistance, which limits their applications. Therefore, there is need for high wear resistance polymers or polymer composites for such application. In this study, wear resistance of poly (vinylidene fluoride) (PVDF) was improved by incorporating hydroxylated titanium dioxide (TD-OH) and functionalized graphene nanoplatelets (fGNPs). The composites were fabricated by solution blending and further processed by melt compounding. Raman and X-ray diffractometer were used to characterize the particles, while morphological study and wear scars on the composite samples were examined using scanning electron microscope. From the results obtained...