Transfer film evolution and its role in promoting ultra-low wear of a PTFE nanocomposite

Polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) is an important solid lubricant with an unusually high wear rate. For a half-century, fillers have been used to reduce PTFE wear by >100× with >10% loading through hypothesized mechanisms involving mechanical load support, crack arresting, and transfer film adhesion. More recently it was discovered that specific nanoparticles provide a unique nanoscale reinforcement mechanism enabling unprecedented wear reductions of 10,000× with as little as 0.1% nano-fillers. Although the mechanisms responsible for this dramatic improvement remain unclear, there is substantial evidence that the transfer film plays a critical role. This paper uses interrupted microscopy measurements to investigate the evolution of transfer film development for an ultra-low wear PTFE nanocomposite. The run-in wear rates were similar to those of more traditional PTFE composites and transfer films consisted of large plate-like debris. Although the run-in wear rate and debris size decreased monotonically with distance, the run-in transfer films were removed each cycle. Detectible debris vanished and wear rates approached zero at an abrupt transition. During this ultra-low wear transition period, nanoscale and oxidized fragments of PTFE were transferred to the counterface. Most of these fragments persisted for the duration of the test and initiated the transfer film by progressively scavenging trace material from the bulk, growing into small islands, and merging with neighboring islands. The results of this study reflect a complex interplay involving elements of transfer film adhesion, chemistry, debris morphology, and mechanics.