Impregnation approach for poly(vinylidene fluoride)/tin oxide nanotube composites with high tribological performance

We report a composite material with the high tribological performance, which consists of one-dimensional SnO2 nanotubes (ST) and a high molecular weight poly(vinylidene fluoride) (PVDF) matrix in terms of nano-impregnation. Dissolution of PVDF in N,N-dimethylformamide (DMF) resulted in a facile penetration of PVDF into the inner hollow voids of ST, leading to the close contact. Interaction between PVDF and ST results in a beneficial effect on the chain arrangement of PVDF, providing an ccphase with better tribological property. Upon ST incorporation, the friction coefficient decreased by 85.0% to 0.408, and the specific wear rate decreased by 69.1% to 0.412, demonstrating the pivotal role of ST as a self-lubricating material due to a large interactive area and PVDF chain rearrangement. (C) 2019 Published by Elsevier Ltd on behalf of The editorial office of Journal of Materials Science & Technology.