Ultrahigh Thermally Conductive Ag-Coated Basalt Fibers with Hierarchical Nanostructured Interfaces for Improved Anti-Wear Properties of Self-Lubricating Fabric Composites

Self-lubricating fabric composites are essential in tackling problem of friction and wear for joint bearings. Controlling tribological properties of them largely hinges on manipulation of thermal conductivity. Although frictional heat transfer can be enhanced by adding functional fillers in resin matrix, they still face dilemma of poor mechanical performance. Here we report Ag-coated basalt fibers containing self-adherent levodopa/polyethyleneimine, strategically positioned between Ag films and basalt fibers to enhance interface adhesion. Benefiting from rough, continuous and compact Ag coatings, as-made composites exhibited thermal conductivity of 0.63   W/m·K and tensile strength of 240.8   MPa, representing increases of 950% and 91%, respectively, compared to conventional counterparts, enabling superior anti-wear characteristics. This polymer-assisted metal deposition approach is promising to produce long-life self-lubricating fabric composites.