Liquid Superlubricity of Polyethylene Glycol Aqueous Solution Achieved with Boric Acid Additive

Boric acid is a weak acid and has been used as a lubrication additive because of its special structure. In this study, we report that boric acid could achieve a robust superlubricity (μ < 0.01) as an additive in polyethylene glycol (PEG) aqueous solution at the Si3N4/SiO2 interfaces. The superlow...

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Veröffentlicht in:Langmuir : the ACS journal of surfaces and colloids. - 1992. - 34(2018), 12 vom: 27. März, Seite 3578-3587
1. Verfasser: Ge, Xiangyu (VerfasserIn)
Weitere Verfasser: Li, Jinjin, Zhang, Chenhui, Luo, Jianbin
Format: Online-Aufsatz
Sprache:English
Veröffentlicht: 2018
Zugriff auf das übergeordnete Werk:Langmuir : the ACS journal of surfaces and colloids
Schlagworte:Journal Article Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
Beschreibung
Zusammenfassung:Boric acid is a weak acid and has been used as a lubrication additive because of its special structure. In this study, we report that boric acid could achieve a robust superlubricity (μ < 0.01) as an additive in polyethylene glycol (PEG) aqueous solution at the Si3N4/SiO2 interfaces. The superlow and steady friction coefficient of approximately 0.004-0.006 could be achieved with boric acid under neutral conditions (pH of approximately 6.4), which is different from the acidic conditions leading to superlubricity. The influence of various factors, including boric acid concentration, sliding speed, applied load, PEG molecular weight, and the volume of lubricant on the superlubricity, were investigated. The results reveal that the PEG aqueous solution with the boric acid additive could achieve superlubricity under a wide range of conditions. The surface composition analysis shows that the synergy effect between boric acid and PEG provides sufficient H+ ions to realize the running-in process. Moreover, a composite tribochemical film composed of silica and ammonia-containing compounds were formed on the ball surface, contributing to the superlubricity. The film thickness calculation shows that superlubricity was achieved in a mixed lubrication region, and therefore, the superlubricity state was dominated by both the composite tribochemical film formed via the tribochemical reaction on the contact surfaces and the hydrodynamic lubricating film between the contact surfaces. Such a liquid superlubricity achieved under neutral conditions is of importance for both scientific understanding and engineering applications
Beschreibung:Date Completed 10.09.2018
Date Revised 10.09.2018
published: Print-Electronic
Citation Status PubMed-not-MEDLINE
ISSN:1520-5827
DOI:10.1021/acs.langmuir.7b04113