Fuel efficiency has become a priority in today's world because of declining fossil fuel resources, rising fuel prices, the need to cut our carbon footprint, and reduce the nation's dependence on oil-rich nations. Additives have been used in fuels and engine oils for many years to ensure cleaner combustion and fewer engine deposits, and to minimize wear. Even a modest fuel efficiency improvement, such as a 1-2% increase, translates into millions of gallons of fuel saved every year, and reduction of metric tons of CO2 currently being released into the atmosphere every year.Between 3-8% of total vehicle fuel consumption can be attributed to overcoming internal engine friction. Internal friction has typically been addressed by adding components to lubricant packages to optimize viscosity and reduce surface friction. Viscosity modifiers are typically oligomers or polymers which undergo a conformational change upon heating. Similarly, we are using uniquely shaped polymers having terminal functional groups capable of substitution to achieve a thermal responsive behavior. The nature of the terminal chains provides a means of changing the molecular volume and conformation with temperature. We report the design and synthesis of four such analogs, engineered to be amphiphilic and thermoresponsive.  The compounds' kinematic viscosities at 40 �C and 100 �C will be discussed, along with their unsubstituted counterparts, to assess the effect of the molecular chain length on the thermoresponsive behavior and their efficacy as viscosity modifiers.Additionally, we hypothesize that the target polymers will improve lubricity.  By controlling the extent of end group functionalization, we can engineer a molecular system that can reduce friction at metal surfaces as well as provide a viscosity benefit.

Modified temperature-responsive polymers for improved viscosity and enhanced lubricity of engine oils

248th National Meeting (2014)

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