This paper aims to prepare an oil-impregnated porous polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) composite with advanced tribological properties using citric acid as a novel pore-forming agent.
Citric acid (CA) was used to form pores in PTFE, and then oil-impregnated PTFE composites were prepared. The pore-forming efficiency of CA was evaluated. The possible mechanism of lubrication was proposed according to the tribological properties.
The results show CA is an efficient pore-forming agent and completely removed, and the porosity of the PTFE increases with the increase of the CA content. The oil-impregnated porous PTFE exhibits an excellent tribological performance, an increased wear resistance of 77.29% was realized in comparison with neat PTFE.
This study enhances understanding of the lubrication mechanism of oil-impregnated porous polymers and guides for their tribological applications.
