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

Composites of polyphenylene sulfide (PPS) filled with solid lubricant particles of graphite (C), molybdenum disulfide (MoS₂), and polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) were prepared by compression molding. The size of the solid lubricant particles was 3-5 μm. The friction and wear behaviors of the composites were examined with a pin-on-disk test rig. The worn composite pin surfaces and the transfer films formed on the counterface were analyzed with scanning electron microscopy. An X-ray photo-electron spectroscope (XPS) was used to characterize the chemical states of the elements in the transfer film. It has been found that graphite and PTFE as the fillers increase the wear resistance of PPS considerably, while MoS₂ as the filler decreases the wear resistance of PPS greatly. The fillers promote the decomposition of PPS and generate compounds, which accounts for the changes in the wear resistance of the composites.