Lubricant additives react to form a lubricating film that can lower friction and/or prevent wear.  At the high temperatures, the surface reaction and film growth kinetics are dominated by thermal processes.  Under mild conditions, a surface film can be formed by shear-induced, surface-to-bulk transport.  This is investigated by studying model sulfur- and boron-containing compounds on copper surfaces in UHV.  The species that are formed by exposure of copper to the model lubricant additive is investigated using a range of surface analytical techniques to indentify the nature of the initial surface species.  The effect of rubbing these adsorbate-covered surfaces is investigated, also in UHV, by measuring the friction coefficient and contact resistance during rubbing.  The chemical composition of the wear track is followed using high-spatial-resolution Auger spectroscopy to follow the fate of the surface species caused by rubbing and to test the above postulate.

Tribological surface chemistry of model lubricant additive measured in ultrahigh vacuum

244th National Meeting (2012)

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