Construction of core–shell‐structured halloysite nanotubes with TiO₂ nanoparticles for ultra‐high‐molecular‐weight polyethylene (UHMWPE) nanocomposites with improved wear resistance

AbstractA hybrid of halloysite nanotubes decorated with titanium dioxide nanoparticles (HNTs@TiO2) was synthesized by the sol–gel method and then mixed with ultra‐high molecular polyethylene (UHMWPE) by melt compounding to enhance its wear resistance properties. The incorporation of HNTs@TiO2 increased the crystallinity as well as the hardness of UHMWPE nanocomposites, which benefited less prone to plastic deformation during the friction process. In addition, the UHMWPE/HNTs@TiO2 maintained a high ductility character with a slight decrease in tensile strength compared to pure UHMWPE. With the addition of 3 wt% HNTs@TiO2, the UHMWPE nanocomposite achieved a remarkably low friction coefficient of 0.073 and a reduced wear rate of 6.67 × 10−6 mm3/N·m. These values represented a 32.4% decrease in friction coefficient and a 43.9% decrease in wear rate compared to pure UHMWPE. The improvement in wear resistance was due to the dislodged TiO2 and HNTs had good synergistic rolling effects at the counterface. Furthermore, the wear scan morphology observation revealed that the transferred HNTs@TiO2‐based materials could help to improve the quality of the tribofilms, which alleviated the abrasive wear from the metallic counterpart. This work offers a feasible way to enhance the wear resistance of UHMWPE nanocomposite without sacrificing the high ductility for expanding its engineering applications.Highlights TiO2‐decorated halloysite nanotubes were synthesized by the sol–gel method. The addition of HNTs@TiO2 maintained the high ductility character of UHMWPE. The UHMWPE composite with 3 wt% HNTs@TiO2 had the best wear resistance.