Research & Development World

  • R&D World Home
  • Topics
    • Aerospace
    • Automotive
    • Biotech
    • Careers
    • Chemistry
    • Environment
    • Energy
    • Life Science
    • Material Science
    • R&D Management
    • Physics
  • Technology
    • 3D Printing
    • A.I./Robotics
    • Software
    • Battery Technology
    • Controlled Environments
      • Cleanrooms
      • Graphene
      • Lasers
      • Regulations/Standards
      • Sensors
    • Imaging
    • Nanotechnology
    • Scientific Computing
      • Big Data
      • HPC/Supercomputing
      • Informatics
      • Security
    • Semiconductors
  • R&D Market Pulse
  • R&D 100
    • Call for Nominations: The 2025 R&D 100 Awards
    • R&D 100 Awards Event
    • R&D 100 Submissions
    • Winner Archive
    • Explore the 2024 R&D 100 award winners and finalists
  • Resources
    • Research Reports
    • Digital Issues
    • R&D Index
    • Subscribe
    • Video
    • Webinars
  • Global Funding Forecast
  • Top Labs
  • Advertise
  • SUBSCRIBE

Research improves dry lubricant used in machinery, biomedical devices

By R&D Editors | May 17, 2013

This image shows silica nanoparticles on the surface of polytetrafluoroethylene, a widely used polymer.Nearly everyone is familiar with the polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE), otherwise known as Teflon, the brand name used by the chemical company DuPont. Famous for being “non-sticky” and water repellent, PTFE is a dry lubricant used on machine components everywhere, from kitchen tools and engine cylinders to space and biomedical applications.

Recently, engineering researchers at the University of Arkansas found a way to make the polymer even less adhesive. They treated thin films of PTFD with silica nanoparticles and found that the lubricating material significantly reduced wear of the polymer while maintaining a low level of friction. The researchers’ work will enable machinery to last longer and operate more efficiently.

“Polytetrafluoroethylene is a big, scary word,” says Min Zou, an associate professor of mechanical engineering. “What we’re talking about here is a material layer or coating—a film—that essentially does not stick and is hydrophobic, meaning it repels water.”

Solid lubricants such as PTFE are appealing because they perform well in high temperatures, have low maintenance costs, and are clean compared to liquids. They are essential in an industrial setting, where the surfaces of various mechanical parts are constantly coming into contact with each other.

PTFE compares favorably to other solid lubricant materials because of its self-lubricating properties, its ability to produce low friction and its resistance to high temperatures and chemicals. It has been used as a lubrication polymer for many years, and recently scientists and engineers have attempted to improve the material by incorporating nanoparticle “fillers” that reduce wear on the material and thus extend its life. However, high concentrations of these nanofillers have created a problem: While reducing wear, they have also increased the material’s ability to create friction.

“A great obstacle in micro- and nanocomposite films has been the inability to find a filler material that provides good wear resistance as well as a low coefficient of friction,” Zou says.

But that’s exactly what Zou found in silica. After integrating the nanoparticle material into PTFE in two different concentrations, she and her graduate student Samuel Beckford applied the thin films to a stainless steel substrate. They subjected the films to abrasive tests to measure the degree of friction and wear resistance. For comparison, they did the same experiments on a pure PTFE film and on bare stainless steel. Andrew Wang with Ocean NanoTech, a local technology firm, helped with size characterization of the nanoparticles.

“Micrographs revealed that the composite films with higher concentration of silica had much narrower wear tracks after the samples were subjected to rubbing tests,” Zou says.

The study was published in Tribology Transactions.

Source: University of Arkansas

Related Articles Read More >

Marine-biodegradable polymer is as strong as nylon
Unilever R&D head lifts lid on AI, robots and beating the ‘grease gap’
First CRISPR-edited spider spins red fluorescent silk
KIST carbon nanotube supercapacitor holds capacity after 100,000 cycles
rd newsletter
EXPAND YOUR KNOWLEDGE AND STAY CONNECTED
Get the latest info on technologies, trends, and strategies in Research & Development.
RD 25 Power Index

R&D World Digital Issues

Fall 2024 issue

Browse the most current issue of R&D World and back issues in an easy to use high quality format. Clip, share and download with the leading R&D magazine today.

Research & Development World
  • Subscribe to R&D World Magazine
  • Enews Sign Up
  • Contact Us
  • About Us
  • Drug Discovery & Development
  • Pharmaceutical Processing
  • Global Funding Forecast

Copyright © 2025 WTWH Media LLC. All Rights Reserved. The material on this site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used, except with the prior written permission of WTWH Media
Privacy Policy | Advertising | About Us

Search R&D World

  • R&D World Home
  • Topics
    • Aerospace
    • Automotive
    • Biotech
    • Careers
    • Chemistry
    • Environment
    • Energy
    • Life Science
    • Material Science
    • R&D Management
    • Physics
  • Technology
    • 3D Printing
    • A.I./Robotics
    • Software
    • Battery Technology
    • Controlled Environments
      • Cleanrooms
      • Graphene
      • Lasers
      • Regulations/Standards
      • Sensors
    • Imaging
    • Nanotechnology
    • Scientific Computing
      • Big Data
      • HPC/Supercomputing
      • Informatics
      • Security
    • Semiconductors
  • R&D Market Pulse
  • R&D 100
    • Call for Nominations: The 2025 R&D 100 Awards
    • R&D 100 Awards Event
    • R&D 100 Submissions
    • Winner Archive
    • Explore the 2024 R&D 100 award winners and finalists
  • Resources
    • Research Reports
    • Digital Issues
    • R&D Index
    • Subscribe
    • Video
    • Webinars
  • Global Funding Forecast
  • Top Labs
  • Advertise
  • SUBSCRIBE