Reduction in wear of metakaolinite-based geopolymer composite through filling of PTFE

Metakaolinite-based geopolymer composite containing 5–30% (volume fraction) polytetra-fluoroethylene (PTFE) was synthesized using compound activator composed of aqueous NaOH and sodium silicate at room temperature. Flexural strength, compressive strength and elastic modulus of the composite were measured. Tribological behaviour of the composite sliding against AISI-1045 steel was investigated on an MM-200 friction and wear tester. SEM, EDS and XPS analysis were conducted on worn surfaces and wear debris. The results show that mechanical strength of the composite was lower than corresponding geopolymer while the wear model became mild. The friction process was stable and the wear rate was dramatically reducted by 86–99.4%. The improvement of tribological properties of the composite was attributed to form a brown soft thin layer on the worn surface of the composite containing Fe2O3 came from tribochemical reaction. EDS analysis on the worn surfaces indicate the content of Fe increase along with the increase of volume content of PTFE in the composite. Furthermore, the counterpart, the steel ring was also protected from terrible wear as occurred when friction with geopolymer without any filling of solid lubricant. There is a brown thin layer mainly composed of Fe2O3 on the steel ring.