The Effects of Copper and Polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) on Thermal Conductivity and Tribological Behavior of Polyoxymethylene (POM) Composites

The effects of copper and polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) on thermal conductivity and tribological behavior of polyoxymethylene (POM) composites were investigated by a hot disk thermal analyzer and an M-2000 friction and abrasion testing machine. The results indicated that the incorporation of 3 wt% copper particles into POM had little effect on the thermal conductivity of POM composites, but led to the decreased friction coefficient and wear rate of composites. As the copper content was increased, the thermal conductivity increased and reached 0.477 W m(-1) K(-1) for POM-25% Cu composite, an increase of 35.9% compared with that of unfilled POM, while the friction coefficient and wear rate of composites also increased. The incorporation of PTFE into POM-Cu composites had a negligible effect on the thermal conductivity of composites, but helped in the formation of a continuous and uniform transfer film and resulted in the reduction in the friction coefficient and wear rate of composites. The POM-15% Cu-10% PTFE composite, with a value of wear rate similar to unfilled POM possessed higher thermal conductivity and lower friction coefficient.