Effects of organo-modified montmorillonite on the tribology performance of bismaleimide-based nanocomposites

Abstract

Abstract Poly(allyl condensed polynuclear aromatic-bismaleimide) (ACOPNA–BMI) with different loadings of an organo-modified montmorillonite (OMMT) nanocomposites were successfully prepared via in situ suspension polymerization. Exfoliation/intercalation phenomena were detected using transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and X-ray diffraction (XRD). Positive effects of the exfoliated platelets on the wearable and thermal behaviours were achieved by varying the OMMT load. The lowest friction coefficient of ACOPNA–BMI/2.0 wt.% OMMT was 0.46 at a wear rate of 0.508 × 10− 6 mm3/Nm, which was superior to that of pure ACOPNA–BMI copolymer resin. The thermostabilities of the materials were assessed by thermogravimetric analysis (TGA). The temperature at the maximum rate of thermal decomposition of ACOPNA–BMI/3 wt.% OMMT was 480 °C, which was much higher than that of the pure ACOPNA–BMI copolymer (436 °C). The nanocomposite obtained, which is a suitable wearable material, can be widely used for protecting drilling tools in petroleum engineering applications due to its thermostability and good self-lubrication properties.