Structural and friction characteristics of g-C3N4/PVDF composites

Abstract

This paper introduced the preparation, structural, and friction characteristics of graphite-like carbon nitride (g-C3N4)/poly(vinylidene difluoride) (PVDF) composites. The g-C3N4/PVDF composites with different g-C3N4 contents were prepared via wet mixing and hot press molding technique. The structure, morphology, thermal properties, and friction characteristics were studied by X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), thermo-gravimetric analysis (TGA), and universal micro-tribotester under dry sliding conditions. The XRD and FT-IR studies confirmed the incorporation of g-C3N4 into the PVDF matrix. The SEM results showed good dispersion of g-C3N4 in PVDF matrix. The “onset” temperature To of the composites increased with increasing the content of g-C3N4 filler, which confirmed the enhancement of thermal stability of the composites. The friction characteristics results indicated that small amount of g-C3N4 filler was not beneficial to reduce friction coefficient of the composite while large amount of filler had little effect on it. In addition, the g-C3N4 filler was beneficial to reduce wear loss of the composite, and the wear loss decreased with increasing the content of g-C3N4 filler.