Mechanical and Tribological Performances of Bulk Acrylic Resin Composites Modified With Carbon Fiber and PTFE

ABSTRACT Pure acrylic resin suffers from inherent limitations such as high brittleness and insufficient wear resistance, restricting its practical applications. To address these issues, this study optimized the monomer composition of acrylic resin and fabricated carbon fiber (CF)/polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) dual‐filler modified bulk acrylic resin composites, aiming to achieve synergistic enhancements in mechanical and tribological properties. The resin with a di‐trimethylolpropane tetraacrylate (Di‐TMPTA):trimethylolpropane triacrylate (TMPTA):ethylene glycol dimethacrylate (EGDMA) mass ratio of 5:4:1 exhibited the highest compressive strength within the investigated monomer ratios, attributed to a well‐balanced crosslinked network between strength and toughness. Subsequently, acrylic resin composites with varying CF/PTFE contents were prepared using the above‐optimized resin as the matrix. The synergistic incorporation of CF and PTFE significantly improved the tribological performance of the composites. Among all formulations prepared in this work, the acrylic resin composite (10 wt% CF + 15 wt% PTFE, ARC‐C10‐P15) achieved the most favorable comprehensive performance: a friction coefficient (COF) of 0.1972 and a wear rate of 4.49 × 10 ⁻⁷ mm ³ /(N m). Morphological and elemental analyses revealed that ARC‐C10‐P15 formed a continuous lubricating layer on the wear scar surface and a uniform transfer film of PTFE on the ZrO ₂ counterball, minimizing direct contact and wear debris accumulation. This work provides a feasible strategy for designing high‐performance self‐lubricating acrylic resin composites by optimizing monomer composition and filler ratio.