Graphite Fluoride as a Novel Solider Lubricant Additive for Ultra-High-Molecular-Weight Polyethylene Composites with Excellent Tribological Properties

Abstract

The tribological properties of ultra-high-molecular-weight polyethylene (UHMW-PE) play a significant role in artificial joint materials. Graphite fluoride (GrF), a novel solid lubricant, was incorporated into ultra-high-molecular-weight polyethylene (UHMW-PE) at different concentrations via ball milling and heat pressing to prepare the GrF-UHMW-PE composites. The structure, hardness, and tribological behavior of the composites were investigated using X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier-transform infrared (FT-IR) spectrometry, ball indentation hardness, and a reciprocating ball-on-plane friction tester, respectively. The results of FT-IR showed that hydrogen bonds (C-F···H-C) could be formed between GrF and UHMW-PE. The hardness of the composites was significantly enhanced by increasing the GrF concentrations. GrF in the composites displayed superior lubricant properties and the coefficient of friction (COF) of the composites was significantly decreased at lower concentrations of GrF viz. 0.1 and 0.5 wt%. The addition of GrF also significantly enhanced the anti-wear properties of the composites, which was a combined effect of lubrication as well as hardness provided by GrF. At 0.5 wt% GrF concentration, the COF and the wear rate were reduced by 34.76% and 47.72%, respectively, when compared to UHMW-PE. As the concentration of GrF increased, the wear modes of the composites transitioned from fatigue wear to abrasive wear. Our current work suggested that GrF-UHMW-PE composites could be a suitable candidate for artificial joint materials.