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Ionic liquids with ammonium cations as lubricants or additives

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Abstract

A new class of more effective lubricants could lead to huge energy savings. Limited recent literature has suggested potential for using room-temperature ionic liquids as lubricants, however, only a few out of millions (or more) of species possible have been evaluated. In this study, a series of new protic alkylammonium ionic liquids were synthesized by neutralization and metathesis reactions, and have demonstrated promising lubricating properties as neat lubricants or lubricant additives, particularly for use with difficult-to-lubricate metals like aluminum. More than a 30% friction reduction was observed with ammonium-based ionic liquids compared to conventional hydrocarbon oils in reciprocating sliding tests of 52100 bearing steel on aluminum alloy 6061-T6511. The inherent polarity of ionic liquids is believed to provide strong adsorption to contact surfaces and can form a boundary lubricating film leading to friction and wear reductions. Other advantages of ionic liquids include (1) negligible volatility, (2) high thermal stability, (3) non-flammability, and (4) better intrinsic properties that may eliminate the need for more complex and expensive additive packages. With very flexible molecular structures, this new class of lubricants, particularly ammonium-based ionic liquids, can be tailored to fit a variety of applications.

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Acknowledgments

Research sponsored by the Laboratory Directed Research and Development Program of Oak Ridge National Laboratory, managed by UT-Battelle, LLC, for the U.S. Department of Energy under Contract No. DE-AC05-00OR22725

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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

    J. Qu & P. J. Blau

  2. Center for Materials Processing, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN, USA

    J. J. Truhan

  3. Chemical Science Division, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, TN, USA

    S. Dai

  4. Nuclear Science and Technology Division, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, TN, USA

    H. Luo

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  1. J. Qu
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  2. J. J. Truhan
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  3. S. Dai
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  4. H. Luo
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  5. P. J. Blau
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Correspondence to J. Qu.

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Qu, J., Truhan, J.J., Dai, S. et al. Ionic liquids with ammonium cations as lubricants or additives. Tribol Lett 22, 207–214 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11249-006-9081-0

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11249-006-9081-0

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