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Tertiary and Quaternary Ammonium-Phosphate Ionic Liquids as Lubricant Additives

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Abstract

In this work, we investigated the feasibility of five quaternary (aprotic) and four tertiary (protic) ammonium ionic liquids (ILs) with an identical organophosphate anion as lubricant anti-wear additives. Viscosity, oil solubility, thermal stability and corrosivity of the candidate ILs were characterized and correlated to the molecular structure. The protic group exhibits higher oil solubility than the aprotic group, and longer alkyl chains seem to provide better oil solubility and higher thermal stability. Selected ILs were applied as oil additives in steel–cast iron tribological tests and demonstrated promising anti-scuffing and anti-wear functionality. The thickness, nanostructure, and composition of the tribofilm formed by the best performing IL were revealed by surface characterization for mechanistic understanding of the tribochemical interactions between the IL and metal surface. Results provide fundamental insights of the correlations among the molecular structure, physiochemical properties and lubricating performance for ammonium-phosphate ILs.

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Acknowledgments

The authors thank Dr. H.H. Elsentriecy and D.W. Coffey from ORNL for electrochemical corrosion tests and TEM sample preparation, respectively. This research was sponsored by the Vehicle Technologies Office, Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, US Department of Energy (DOE). Electron microscopy characterization was performed at ORNL’s Center for Nanophase Materials Sciences (CNMS), sponsored by the Scientific User Facilities Division, Office of DOE-BES. W.C.B. was supported by the DOE Science Undergraduate Laboratory Internships program (SULI).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Materials Science and Technology Division, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, P.O. Box 2008, MS-6063, Oak Ridge, TN, 37831-6063, USA

    William C. Barnhill, Harry M. Meyer III, Cheng Ma, Miaofang Chi & Jun Qu

  2. Energy and Transportation Science Division, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, TN, 37831, USA

    Huimin Luo

  3. Houston, TX, 77210, USA

    Brian L. Papke

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  1. William C. Barnhill
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Correspondence to Jun Qu.

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Brian L. Papke retired from Shell Technology Center Houston, Shell Projects and Technology (US), Houston, TX, 77210, USA.

This manuscript has been authored by UT-Battelle, LLC, under Contract No. DE-AC05-00OR22725 with the US Department of Energy. The United States Government retains and the publisher, by accepting the article for publication, acknowledges that the US Government retains a nonexclusive, paid-up, irrevocable, worldwide license to publish or reproduce the published form of this manuscript, or allow others to do so, for US Government purposes.

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Barnhill, W.C., Luo, H., Meyer, H.M. et al. Tertiary and Quaternary Ammonium-Phosphate Ionic Liquids as Lubricant Additives. Tribol Lett 63, 22 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11249-016-0707-6

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