Fabrication of Polytetrafluoroethylene-Reinforced Fluorocarbon Composite Coatings and Tribological Properties Under Multi-Environment Working Conditions

Currently, few studies have been conducted on the use of fluorocarbon resin (FEVE) and polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) as adhesive substrates and lubricating and anti-corrosion fillers, respectively, for the fabrication of PTFE-reinforced fluorocarbon composite coatings. In this paper, the tribological properties of polytetrafluoroethylene-reinforced fluorocarbon composite coatings were investigated through orthogonal tests under various operating conditions. The optimal configuration for coating preparation under dry friction and aqueous lubrication was thus obtained: the optimal filler particle size, mass ratio of FEVE to PTFE, spraying pressure, and curing agent content were 50 μm, 3:4.5, 0.3 MPa, and 0.3, respectively. Under oil lubrication, the corresponding optimal values were 5 μm, 3:4.5, 0.3 MPa, and 0.3, respectively. Tribological tests revealed that the best overall performance of the FEVE/PTFE coating was obtained when the mass ratio of FEVE to PTFE was 3:4.5, and the filler particle size also significantly affected the tribological properties under different environments, including the friction coefficients of the FEVE/50 μm-PTFE coating under both dry friction and aqueous lubrication, as well as the friction coefficient of the FEVE/5 μm-PTFE coating under oil lubrication. These coefficients were 0.067, 0.062, and 0.055, representing decreases of 86%, 92%, and 56%, respectively, compared to those of the pure FEVE coating under the same working conditions. This research was conducted with the goal of expanding the application of fluorocarbon coatings in the field of tribology.