Microencapsulated paraffin as a tribological additive for advanced polymeric coatings

Abstract Numerous tribological applications, wherein the use of liquid lubricants is infeasible, require adequate dry lubrication. Despite polymers as an effective solution for sliding their poor wear resistance prevents utilization in harsh industrial environment. Different methods are typically implemented to tackle performance polymers, however sacrificing some mechanical/tribological properties. Herein, we discussed introduction a novel additive, namely microencapsulated phase change material (MPCM) into advanced polymeric coating. Specifically, paraffin was encapsulated melamine-based resin, and capsules were dispersed aromatic thermosetting co-polyester (ATSP) We found that MPCM-filled composite exhibited unique behavior, manifested “zero wear”, super-low coefficient friction (COF) 0.05. The developed outperformed state-of-the-art polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE)-filled coatings, under experimental conditions examined herein.