Tribological properties of PTFE composites filled with surface-treated carbon fiber

Carbon fibers (CF) were surface treated with concentrated HNO₃, silane coupling agent, rare earth solution and rare earth sol, respectively. The friction and wear behavior of polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) filled with differently surface treated CF were studied. The worn surfaces of CF/PTFE composites were then examined with scanning electron microscope (SEM). It is found that the wear volume loss of the rare earth sol treated CF filled PTFE composites reaches the lowest value when the modifier concentration is 10 wt%. It is only about 65% of the wear volume loss of the PTFE filled with untreated CF. Among all the treatments to CF, rare earth sol treatment is the most effective and the lowest friction and wear volume loss of CF/PTFE composite is exhibited.