Molecular dynamics study on the mechanical and tribological properties of polyimide reinforced by lanthana

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the effect of lanthana (La₂O₃) on the mechanical and tribological properties of polyimide (PI).

Design/methodology/approach

The mechanical and tribological properties of PI nanocomposites filled with La₂O₃ were studied by molecular dynamic simulations to explore the deep mechanisms from an atomic or molecular view.

Findings

The results showed that the hardness of the PI matrix increased after La₂O₃ modification with a decrease of 72.4% nanoindentation depth. Besides, the friction coefficient of PI decreased by 72.2% after filling La₂O_3, and the shear deformation was largely reduced under the same conditions. The adsorption effect of La₂O₃ on the PI molecular, which reduced the atomic relative concentration, velocity, interaction with counterpart Fe layer and the temperature rise in the frictional interface, contributed to the improvement of the mechanical and tribological performance.

Originality/value

This study reveals the friction and wear mechanism of PI composites filled with rare earth oxide at the nanoscale.

Citation

Cai, P., Xu, C., Zheng, F., Song, J. and Zhao, G. (2021), "Molecular dynamics study on the mechanical and tribological properties of polyimide reinforced by lanthana", Industrial Lubrication and Tribology, Vol. 73 No. 10, pp. 1319-1324. https://doi.org/10.1108/ILT-08-2021-0309