APPLICATION OF THE (P, ALPHA-GAMMA-REACTION FOR THE STUDY OF THE TRANSFER OF POLYTETRAFLUOROETHYLENE

The transfer of polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) onto AISI 304 stainless steel during unidirectional sliding was determined by detecting fluorine using the resonance of the reaction 19F(p, αγ) 16O at a proton energy of 340 keV. Exploiting the exquisite sensitivity of the reaction in question the transfer was examined from the first pass with the good accuracy, and the growth of the deposition during the first ten passes was investigated. The highest transfer rate was observed during the first pass. Both the deposition during the first pass as well as the average transfer rates depend on the nominal pressure. The average transfer rate was found in most cases to be less than a monolayer, which indicates an uneven deposition.