Effect of crystalline form on the tribological properties of PA46/HDPE polyblends

PA46/HDPE polyblends with different component ratios and the same content of compatibilizer HDPE-g-MAH were prepared to investigate the main influence factors for the tribological properties of the polyblends. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and X-ray diffraction (XRD) were used for investigating the phase structure and crystalline characteristics of the polyblends, respectively. The friction coefficients of all PA46/HDPE blends were as low as 0.21-0.22, which were near the friction coefficient of pure HDPE, and much lower than that of pure PA46 (0.77). The wear of PA46/HDPE (8/2), which contained less HDPE, was much lower than that of the polybiends which had more HDPE component. DSC and XRD analysis results suggested that the crystalline form may be the main factor to influence the wear property of PA46/HDPE polybiends. gamma(PA46) phase caused high wear and large sheet-like debris because of its low inherent strength, alpha(pA46) and beta(PA46) phases associated with low wear, which accompanied by smoother worn surface and small fragment-like wear debris. (c) 2008 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.