Effect of Graphene Oxide and Plasma Treatment on Tribological Characteristics of Ultra-High Molecular Weight Polyethylene

A technology has been developed for preparing a suspension and deposition of a coating to the surface of ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene (UHMWPE) samples. After deposition of a graphene oxide layer onto the sample surface, the sample was treated in helium plasma at low pressure to stabilize and crosslink the deposited layer. It has been experimentally shown that the deposition of a graphene oxide coating on the surface followed by UHMWPE plasma treatment reduces the dynamic coefficient of sliding friction by more than three times (from 0.092 to 0.027), but no significant increase in adhesion of graphene oxide layer due to plasma treatment was observed.