Investigation of tribological properties of polyimide/carbon nanotube nanocomposites

Polyimide/carbon nanotube (PI/CNT) nanocomposites with different proportions of CNT were fabricated by in situ process. The bending strength and microhardness of the PI/CNT nanocomposites were measured. The friction and wear behavior of the nanocomposites was evaluated on an M-2000 friction and wear tester. As the results, the bending strength and microhardness of the PI/CNT nanocomposites increased with increasing CNT content and reached stable values at a certain content of CNT. CNT could effectively enhance the friction-reduction and antiwear capacity of the nanocomposite because it increased the load capacity and mechanical strength of the CNT/PI. The variables such as applied load and sliding speed had a significant influence on friction and wear performance.