The role of solid-lubricant fillers on enhancing antifriction properties of polyethersulphone-based composites.

In this research, both two- and three-component composites based on thermoplastic polyethersulfone (PES) filled with solid lubricant fillers of various sizes and nature (PTFE, graphite, and MoS2) were investigated. Their structure, the mechanical and tribological properties were studied under point-contact conditions according the "ball-on-disk" scheme. It was shown that the "PES +10 wt.% PTFE +0.5 wt. % MoS2" composite possessed the lowest both wear rate and friction coefficient levels (0.75 and 0.61 mm3/N·m as well as 0.034 and 0.044, respectively, for the metal and ceramic counterparts). In these cases, there was a near-wearless mode due to the formation of a homogeneous transfer film. Both graphite and MoS2 microparticles did not play the role of solid lubricants in the investigated PES-based composites under the studied conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]