Tribological properties, inorganic

The potential applications of inorganic nanotubes as tips for scanning probe microscopy for the study of soft tissue rough surfaces and for nanolithography is further discussed in this chapter (Section VI). Most importantly, these kinds of nanoparticles exhibit interesting tribological properties, which are briefly discussed. 

CNT has already been exploited in NEMS as the basis for a rotary element for a magnetically actnated nano-plate [96] and additional NEMS devices relying on both the novel mechanical and electrical properties of CNTs wiU continne to be developed in the years to come. Composite materials containing CNTs, especially inorganic material/CNT blends, have been demonstrated to have enhanced mechanical and tribological properties, unattainable with current metallurgical techniques [97]. These electroless and electrodeposited composites wiU provide a new class of materials available for MEMS and NEMS devices. 

In the last two decades, polymer nanocomposites have attracted the interest of researchers and industries because of their excellent mechanical, physical and tribological properties. The addition of nanosize inorganic fillers like clay, Al Oj, CaCOj, TiOj, ZnO and SiO has altered the mechanical and physical properties of the polymers significantly, and in general the nanocomposites are superior to virgin polymers in many aspects. 

Inorganic particles are well known to enhance the mechanical and tribological properties of polymers, and this issue has been widely investigated in the past decades. It has been found that the particle size plays an important role in the improvement of the wear resistance. Reducing the particle size to a nano-scale level is assumed to Improve significantly the composite efficiency nanoparticle-filled polymers, the so-called polymer nanocomposites, are very promising... 

There are two main lines of work here one is improving the tribological properties of specific polymers. Blending with fluoropolymer [4], addition of inorganic filler [5 - 6] and y-radiating the surface [7] have been used to migitage wear and to lower friction. Another is the improved understanding of wear mechanisms in polymers. 

---