Tribological Behavior of Phenolic Resin Composites Modified Using Tetraethyl Orthosilicate

Abstract

In this work, modified phenolic resin was synthesized successfully by mixing phenol, formaldehyde, and tetraethyl orthosilicate (TEOS) under certain conditions. The synthetic phenolic resin was characterized by Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and thermogravimetry–differential scanning calorimetry (TG-DSC). It was shown that the absorption peak for the Si-O-Si structure was located at 1097 cm⁻¹ in modified phenolic resin. The produced SiO₂ granules were uniformly dispersed throughout the polymer matrix, and the size of the granules was in the range of 2–10 μm. The results also indicated that the inorganic particles could improve the thermal stability of the polymer at high temperature. The weight loss of the phenolic resin with 3.0 wt% silicon was lower and the temperature of its exothermic peak was higher. Friction materials with different phenolic resins were investigated using friction and wear tests. Friction properties such as friction stability and wear resistance displayed a significant dependence on the category of phenolic resin. The friction composites with inorganic SiO₂ particles were determined to be preferable with respect to friction coefficient and wear resistance. The friction coefficient and wear rate of the composites with 3.0% silicon phenolic resin were found to be comparatively lower than with other two phenolic resins at 50–100°C and 250–300°C.

KEY WORDS:

• Polymer–Matrix Composites (PMCs)
• Wear
• Surface Treatments

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

This work was financially supported by the Young and Middle Aged Excellent Creative Team of the Huangshi Institute of Technology; the Major Program of the Education Bureau of Hubei Province, China (Z20104401); the Provincial Key Program of the Natural Science Foundation of Hubei Province, China (2010CDA026); the Science Foundation of the Hubei Provincial Department of Science and Technology (2009CDZ003); the Science Foundation of the Hubei Provincial Department of Education (Q20104403); and the NSFC (21174047).

Review led by David Burrsi