The effects of polydopamine coated Cu nanoparticles on the tribological properties of polydopamine/PTFE coatings

by Beckford, Samuel; Mathurin, Leanne; Chen, Jingyi; Fleming, Robert A.; Zou, Min

The effects of using polydopamine (PDA) coated Cu nanoparticles (PDA-Cu) as a filler in the polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) topcoat of a PDA/PTFE dual-layer coating are investigated, where the PDA is used as an adhesive basecoat. Tribological tests show that the addition of PDA-Cu in PTFE increases the wear life of PDA/PTFE by a factor of two, approximately three orders of magnitude greater than that of pure PTFE without a PDA basecoat. This increase in wear life is achieved without compromising the low coefficient of friction characteristic of pure PIPE. Scratch tests show that the PDA-Cu filler improves adhesion between the PTFE and the PDA, preventing large scale delamination and also increases the toughness of the coating, preventing ruptures at lower loads.

Journal
Tribology International
Volume
103
Year
2016
Start Page
87-94
URL
https://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.triboint.2016.06.031
ISBN/ISSN
1879-2464; 0301-679X
DOI
10.1016/j.triboint.2016.06.031