Tribological and Antibacterial Properties of Polyetheretherketone Composites with Black Phosphorus Nanosheets

Abstract

Over the past few decades, polyetheretherketone (PEEK) artificial bone joint materials faced problems of poor wear resistance and easy infection, which are not suitable for the growing demand of bone joints. The tribological behavior and wear mechanism of polyetheretherketone (PEEK)/polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) with black phosphorus (BP) nanosheets have been investigated under dry sliding friction. Compared with pure PEEK, the COF of PEEK/10 wt% PTFE/0.5 wt% BP was reduced by about 73% (from 0.369 to 0.097) and the wear rate decreased by approximately 95% (from 1.0 × 10−4 mm3/(N m) to 5.1 × 10−6 mm3/(N m)) owing to the lubrication of the BP transfer film. Moreover, BP can endow the PEEK composites with excellent biological wettability and antibacterial properties. The antibacterial rate of PEEK/PTFE/BP was assessed to be over 99.9%, which might help to solve the problem of PEEK implant inflammation. After comprehensive evaluation in this research, 0.5 wt% BP nanosheet-filled PEEK/PTFE material displayed the optimum lubrication and antibacterial properties, and thus could be considered as a potential candidate for its application in biomedical materials.

Methods to improve antibacterial properties of PEEK: A review

“…Black phosphorus inhibited S. aureus by only the generation of ROS [92]. Similarly, the bacterial reduction with ZrO 2 nanoparticles on the surface stemmed from the formation of ROS.…”

“…The first step includes powder mixing using a liquid medium such as ethanol to obtain a homogeneous mixture. PEEK powder or blends of PEEK and reinforcements in powder form are dispersed in the medium [92]. The second step includes heating above the melting temperature (PEEK melting temperature: ∼343 • C) for injection molding, compression molding, selectively laser sintering, cold pressing sintering, and twin-screw extrusion [51,54,144,149,150] to obtain composite materials or electrophoretic deposition for composite coatings [83].…”

“…Black phosphorus is another reinforcement used in PEEK composite to improve the wear properties. The wear rate decreased 95% when 10 wt.% PTFE and 0.5 wt.% black phosphorus were included in the PEEK structure [92]. Black phosphorus formed a transfer film with Van der Waals force, providing a good adhesion with tribopairs [92].…”

“…The wear rate decreased 95% when 10 wt.% PTFE and 0.5 wt.% black phosphorus were included in the PEEK structure [92]. Black phosphorus formed a transfer film with Van der Waals force, providing a good adhesion with tribopairs [92]. PEEK composite coatings with carbon fiber (25 wt.%) and GO (0.02 wt.%) improved the wear resistance of Ti-6Al-4V alloy [94].…”

Nanomaterial-Based Antimicrobial Coating for Biomedical Implants: New Age Solution for Biofilm-Associated Infections

“… 144 A similar study was also conducted by Sun et al where the group demonstrated that a composite made of polyetheretherketone (PEEK)/polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) with black phosphorus (BP) nanosheets was able to increase the wear resistance and antimicrobial property while being much less cytotoxic. 145 Recently, Fang et al have reported a phototherapeutic system by combining polydopamine (PDA)–black phosphorus nanosheets (BP NSs)/ZnO nanowires (NWs) on titanium (Ti) substrates which exhibited outstanding antibacterial properties against biofilm-causing bacteria. 146 …”