Document Type

Article

Publication Date

8-31-2016

Publication Title

Lubricants

Volume

4

Abstract

In this paper, we report the synthesis and characterization of ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene (UHMWPE)-lignin composites. During this study four different compositions, namely UHMWPE, UHMWPE-13 wt. % lignin, UHMWPE-25 wt. % lignin and UHMWPE-42.5 wt. % lignin were fabricated by hot pressing. Detailed microstructural studies by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) showed that UHMWPE and UHMWPE-13 wt. % lignin had a uniform microstructure, whereas UHMWPE-25 wt. % lignin and UHMWPE-42.5 wt. % lignin samples were riddled with pores. UHMWPE and UHMWPE-13% lignin showed comparable flexural strengths of ~32.2 MPa and ~32.4 MPa, respectively. However, the flexural strength dropped drastically in UHMWPE-25 wt. % lignin and UHMWPE-42.5 wt. % samples to ~13 MPa and ~8 MPa, respectively. The tribology of UHMWPE-lignin composites is governed by the tribofilm formation. All the compositions showed similar µmean values and the specific wear rates (WR) decreased gradually as the concentration of lignin in UHMWPE was increased.

Issue

3

DOI

10.3390/lubricants4030031

ISSN

20754442

Creative Commons License

Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

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