An investigation of the friction and wear behaviors of polyphenylene sulfide filled with solid lubricants

Composites of polyphenylene sulfide (PPS) filled with solid lubricant parti cles of graphite (C), molybdenum disulfide (MoS2), and polytetrafluoroethyl ene (PTFE) were prepared by compression molding. The size of the solid lubr icant particles was 3-5 mu m. The friction and wear behaviors of the compos ites were examined with a pin on-disk test rig. The worn composite pin surf aces and the transfer films formed on the counterface were analyzed with sc anning electron microscopy. An X-ray photoelectron spectroscope (XPS) was u sed to characterize the chemical states of the elements in the transfer fil m. It has been found that graphite and PTFE as the fillers increase the wea r resistance of PPS considerably, while MoS2 as the filler decreases the we ar resistance of PPS greatly. The fillers promote the decomposition of PPS and generate compounds, which accounts for the changes in the wear resistan ce of the composites.