Influence of thermally treated polytetrafluoroethylene on the tribological properties of ultra-high molecular polyethylene

In this work, the effect of heat treatment of polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) on the properties and structure of ultrahigh molecular weight polyethylene was studied. The results of a study on compression, density and tribological characteristics of polymer composites based on UHMWPE filled with initial PTFE and with heat treatment are presented. It is shown that the introduction of polytetrafluoroethylene with heat treatment leads to an improvement in wear resistance by a factor of 4 and compressive strength up to 50 % compared to the polymer matrix. Structural studies have shown that the improvement in wear resistance is associated with a decrease in oxidative processes during friction due to discretely distributed particles of heat-treated PTFE. Due to the high wear resistance, the developed materials can be used in friction units of machines and technical equipment.