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

Abstract A 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.