Morphology of ultrahigh molecular weight polyethylene surface slid against steel

A morphological study was made to examine the friction and wear mechanisms of ultrahigh molecular weight polyethylene in air and water by means of transmission electron microscopy of a carbon replica film of a very thin layer of the polymer surface slid against a steel ball. Electron diffractions revealed that a molecular orientation with a typical fiber pattern was formed in the friction in air, while thin ribbon-like crystals with particular crystal orientations were formed in water in a way that the sliding took place on the crystallographic a—c plane, giving rise to a low friction coefficient of the polymer.