PDMS fluids and polymer are general very stable and resistant to degradation. While oxidative degradation of PDMS materials is commonly observed at higher temperatures and under oxidative conditions, we have recently characterized accelerated degradation occurring at metal surfaces under vibrational or sliding contact conditions. While frictional degradation/polymerization of organic gases, solvents, fluids and lubricants has been known for over half a century, examples of frictional degradation in PDMS systems are rare. In this presentation we explore the oxidative degradation of PDMS fluids at different metal oxide surfaces in electrical contact alloys using NMR, IR and GPC. It is argued that the degradation is very heterogeneous in nature, and can occur rapidly in localized regions, and is impacted by the frictional/vibrational environments, the specific contact metals present, and the concentration of dissolved oxygen in the PDMS fluid. Different molecular level degradation mechanisms are explored, with spectroscopic evaluation of the different degradation species produced.Sandia National Laboratories is a multi-program laboratory managed and operated by Sandia Corporation, a wholly owned subsidiary of Lockheed Martin Corporation, for the U.S. Department of Energy's National Nuclear Security Administration under contract DE-AC04-94AL85000.

Heterogeneous oxidation of PDMS fluids at metal surfaces

248th National Meeting (2014)

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