Friction and wear behavior of unsaturated polyester/montmorillonite intercalated nanocomposites

Nanocomposites of unsaturated polyester (UP) filled with montmorillonite (MMT) were prepared by intercalation polymerization. The phase structures of the resulting nanocomposites were characterized by means of X-ray diffraction. The friction and wear behavior of the nanocomposites in sliding against AISI-1045 steel under the water-lubricated condition was examined on an MM-200 test rig in a ring-on-block configuration. The worn surfaces of the nanocomposites were examined by means of scanning electron microscopy and energy dispersive spectrometry. As a result, the nanocomposites showed much better wear resistance than the UP matrix, while the friction-reducing ability rose slightly. This was related to the change in the wear mechanism induced by the introduction of the MMT as the filler. In other words, UP was dominated by the adhesion wear and fatigue peeling off in water-lubricated sliding against the steel, while the adhesion wear and fatigue peeling off were considerably abated for the nanocomposite under the same test condition.