A novel interfacial modification strategy to improve the wear resistance of PPESK composites

High-speed and heavy-duty equipment transmission or rotation systems have experienced a significant increase in demand for wear-resistant, self-lubricating resin matrix composites. However, the interfacial interaction between the fillers and the matrix is nonetheless weak due to the fact that the composites are multi-component systems. This weak interaction negatively impacts wear resistance in practical applications. In this paper, a one-step modification method of multiple fillers based on coupling agent compounding by RSM design is proposed. The resulting PPESK composites exhibit excellent thermal (T5wt% = 517.6 °C), mechanical (Rockwell hardness = 118 HRR), and wear (ω = 0.72 × 10−15 m3/Nm) properties. In addition, PPESK composite bearings were prepared, which showed lightweight advantages, exhibited outstanding tribology performance (μ = 0.079, ω = 0.52 × 10−15 m3/Nm), and demonstrated excellent media resistance (Swelling degree (90 days, 25 ℃) = 0.45 %) in Jet fuel No.3. Therefore, these bearings have great application prospects in the field of aero-engine bearings.