Granular and platelet titanate as promising brake pads ingredients

Recent efforts in developing eco-friendlier and safer brake pads led to the replacement of whisker potassium hexatitanate (KTO). Granular and platelet KTO are considered promising substitutes, even if their friction and wear behaviour has not been comprehensively investigated yet. For this reason, this paper focuses on the tribological properties of granular and platelet KTO, and potassium magnesium titanate (KMTO), investigated by pin and ball on disk. Both raw materials in form of powder and composites, containing 50%wt of titanate and 50%wt of phenolic resin reinforced with aramid fibres, were analysed. Scanning Electron Microscopy, X-ray diffraction and Raman spectroscopy were employed for the morphological and structural analysis of powders and composites. Also, hardness and porosity were considered as parameters potentially affecting the tribological behaviour. As major outcomes, KMTO appears as a milder solid lubricant than KTO and platelet particles lead to superior wear resistance with respect to the granular ones.