Preparation and tribological properties of polyetheretherketone composites

Polyetheretherketone (PEEK) is a thermoplastic engineering plastic with excellent mechanical properties. In this article, PEEK and its composites filled with ultrahigh-molecular-weight polyethylene (UHMWPE) were prepared by vacuum hot-pressing method. Tribological properties of these materials were investigated by block-on-ring friction and wear rig. An alloy (CoCrMo) ring and a ceramic (Si(3)N(4)) ring were used as friction pairs. The experiments were conducted under deionized water lubrication (DWL), saline lubrication (SL), and calf serum solution lubrication (CSSL). Worn surfaces morphology was observed and analyzed by metallographic microscope. The results indicated that friction coefficients of PEEK/UHMWPE composites were effectively reduced when compared with pure PEEK. When the materials slid against the alloy (CoCrMo) ring, wear rates of PEEK/UHMWPE were also effectively reduced when compared with pure PEEK. Wear mechanisms of PEEK were mainly ploughing and slight scratches under CSSL condition, whereas the quantity of the ploughing and scratches for PEEK/20%UHMWPE were significantly reduced.