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Characterization of Tribofilms Generated from Serpentine and Commercial Oil Using X-ray Absorption Spectroscopy

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Abstract

The chemical and tribological properties of serpentine particles suspended in lubricating oil were investigated using a pin-on-disk high frequency friction machine at 100 °C. The wear scar width of the upper steel pins was measured by an optical microscope. The tribofilm was characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy dispersive X-ray (EDX) elemental mapping, and X-ray absorption near-edge structure (XANES) spectroscopy. It was found that the addition of serpentine to commercial engine oil improves its tribological properties. The SEM and EDX elemental mapping shows that a tribofilm formed by the commercial oil with serpentine contains silicon, magnesium, oxygen, phosphorus, sulfur, zinc, calcium, and carbon on the worn surface, which is different from the tribofilm formed by the commercial oil without serpentine. The results of the XANES analysis show that the addition of serpentine to the commercial oil changes the chemical compositions of the tribofilms. This change may account for the better tribological properties of the lubricating oil containing serpentine. The formation mechanism of the tribofilm is discussed.

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Acknowledgments

Research at the University of Western Ontario is supported by NSERC, CFI, OIT, and CRC. We thank Western Nanofabrication Laboratory, University of Western Ontario for SEM imaging. The Canadian Light Source (CLS), where the synchrotron measurements were conducted, is supported by the CFI, NSERC, NRC, CIHR, and the University of Saskatchewan. The support from the China Scholarship Council is gratefully acknowledged. Research at China University of Geosciences (Beijing) is supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (51044011) and the National Laboratory of Mineral Materials.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Materials Science and Technology, China University of Geosciences, Beijing, 100083, People’s Republic of China

    Fuyan Zhao & Zhimin Bai

  2. Department of Chemistry, University of Western Ontario, London, ON, N6A5B7, Canada

    Fuyan Zhao, Masoud Kasrai & Tsun-Kong Sham

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  1. Fuyan Zhao
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  2. Masoud Kasrai
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Correspondence to Masoud Kasrai.

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Zhao, F., Kasrai, M., Sham, TK. et al. Characterization of Tribofilms Generated from Serpentine and Commercial Oil Using X-ray Absorption Spectroscopy. Tribol Lett 50, 287–297 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11249-013-0123-0

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11249-013-0123-0

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