Tribological behaviour of a PEEK polymer containing solid MoS2 lubricants

The addition of different concentrations (2-10wt.%) of molybdenum disulfide (MoS2) to a poly-ether-ether-ketone matrix has been studied in terms of the thermal, mechanical and tribological properties of the materials. The results of dry-sliding tribological tests, differential scanning calorimetry and scanning electron microscope-energy-dispersive X-ray (EDS) analyses show that the concentration of MoS2 influences the tribological, mechanical and thermal properties. With the highest concentration of MoS2 (10wt.%), the coefficient of friction was reduced by as much as 25%, while the maximum reduction in the wear rate was similar to 20%, which required 5wt.% of MoS2. The most important parameter when it comes to achieving an improved tribological behaviour was found to be the combination of a high hardness and a sufficient quantity of transfer film being formed. Copyright (c) 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.