Ionic Liquid Adsorption and Nanotribology at the Silica-Oil Interface: Hundred-Fold Dilution in Oil Lubricates as Effectively as the Pure Ionic Liquid.
The remarkable physical properties of ionic liquids (ILs) make them potentially excellent lubricants. One of the challenges for using ILs as lubricants is their high cost. In this article, atomic force microscopy (AFM) nanotribology measurements reveal that a 1 mol % solution of IL dissolved in an oil lubricates the silica surface as effectively as the pure IL. The adsorption isotherm shows that the IL surface excess need only be approximately half of the saturation value to prevent surface contact and effectively lubricate the sliding surfaces. Using ILs in this way makes them viable for large-scale applications.
†Centre for Advanced Particle Processing and Transport, The University of Newcastle, Callaghan, New South Wales 2308, Australia.
Hua
H
Li
†Centre for Advanced Particle Processing and Transport, The University of Newcastle, Callaghan, New South Wales 2308, Australia.
Peter K
PK
Cooper
‡ARC Centre of Excellence for Electromaterials Science, Institute for Frontier Materials, Deakin University, 221 Burwood Highway, Burwood, Victoria 3125, Australia.
Anthony E
AE
Somers
§School of Chemical Science and Engineering, KTH Royal Institute of Technology, Stockholm SE100 44, Sweden.|⊥Chemistry, Materials and Surfaces, SP Technical Research Institute of Sweden, Stockholm SE100 44, Sweden.
Mark W
MW
Rutland
‡ARC Centre of Excellence for Electromaterials Science, Institute for Frontier Materials, Deakin University, 221 Burwood Highway, Burwood, Victoria 3125, Australia.
Patrick C
PC
Howlett
‡ARC Centre of Excellence for Electromaterials Science, Institute for Frontier Materials, Deakin University, 221 Burwood Highway, Burwood, Victoria 3125, Australia.
Maria
M
Forsyth
†Centre for Advanced Particle Processing and Transport, The University of Newcastle, Callaghan, New South Wales 2308, Australia.
Rob
R
Atkin
adsorption isotherm; atomic force microscope; ionic liquids; lubricant additives; nanotribology; quartz crystal microbalance