Friction and wear behavior of the hybrid PTFE/cotton fabric composites filled with TiO₂ nanoparticles and modified TiO₂ nanoparticles

A chemical grafting method was applied to modify TiO₂ nanoparticles through covalently introducing glycidoxypropyltrimethoxy silicane (KH560) followed by polyoxymethylene onto the particles to overcome the disadvantages generated by the agglomeration of nanoparticles. TiO₂ nanoparticles unmodified and modified were introduced into hybrid polytetraflyoroethylene (PTFE)/cotton fabric composites. Friction and wear test demonstrated that TiO₂ nanoparticles unmodified and modified can significantly increase the wear resistance of hybrid PTFE/cotton fabric composites but cannot reduce the friction coefficient. Fabric composites filled with grafted TiO₂ nanoparticles exhibited a lower wear rate due to the disintegration of agglomeration and the improvement of interfacial adhesion between filler/matrix.