Study on the properties of the potassium titanate whiskers-PTFE composites

To investigate the effect of PTW on the properties of PTFE composites, the surface modification and contents of PTW on the mechanical strength, thermal properties and wear resistance of PTFE composites were studied in this paper. The results showed that the surface energy of modified PTW decreased from 69.2 mJ/m² to 50.7 mJ/m², and dispersibility of PTW was obviously improved. Different from other fiber-filled PTFE composites, the tensile strength and toughness of PTW-PTFE composites can be increased simultaneously, meanwhile the heat deformation temperature and wear resistance are much higher than those of pure PTFE. At 5 wt% PTW content, the mentioned properties were increased by 19%, 34%, 3%, 9% and 1000% respectively. SEM showed that the internal structure of PTW-PTFE composites is more uniform and compact than glass fiber-PTFE composites. PTW-PTFE composites got the best mechanical and tribological properties when the filler content is between 5-10 wt%, which is similar to some nano-composites.