Abstract:
The science and engineering of friction and wear involving polymer surfaces are not well understood. From various types of polymeric materials available, we investigated tribological properties of films made from copolymers of perfluoroalkylethyl methacrylate and methyl methacrylate monomers. 4wt% copolymer solutions were spun cast onto 1mm thick PMMA sheet substrates. The effects of monomer ratio and processing method on tribological properties were studied from contact angle measurements, and TE79 multi-axis tribology measurements. We found that there was an optimum ratio of FMA to MMA, in the range of (1-5)x10-3, to attain a minimum kinetic friction coefficient. The results obtained are discussed in terms of proposed friction and wear mechanisms.
