The Effect of Simultaneous Incorporation of PTFE Nanoparticles and Carbon Nanotubes on the Tribological Behavior of Ni-P Coating

In some engineering fields, wear resistance and a low friction coefficient are required at the sametime. In this research, PTFE nanoparticles and carbon nanotubes were co-deposited within Ni-Pmatrix to obtain an Ni-P-PTFE-CNT hybrid coating for wear resistance and a low friction coefficient.The tribological properties of the deposits were evaluated by pin on disc tribometer. The morphologyof the coatings and worn surface was evaluated by scanning electron microscopy. However, theresults showed that the addition of PTFE nanoparticles to the Ni-P electroless coating caused thefriction coefficient to decrease to values lower than 0.2, which led to an improvement in frictionbehavior because of its self-lubricity properties; it, however, decreased the strength of coating due topolymeric and soft structure of the molecules. The simultaneous incorporation of PTFE nanoparticlesand carbon nanotubes can provide the properties of both molecules and increased the strength ofcoating with a low friction coefficient and self-lubricity properties. Therefore, the wear rate and thedegradation of surface were decreased during the wear process.