Polymer brushes have been shown to be highly effective at lubricating surfaces in an aqueous environment [1]. In fact, they resemble some natural lubrication systems, which are always water based. However, in order to have an impact in industrial/automotive lubrication, polymer brushes need to be able to function in oil. This continues to be an issue in the age of the electric vehicle, and new problems arise as a consequence of the lower-temperature operating conditions.<br/>Although grafting-from brushes, i.e. those grown from a surface, have been shown to work well in an oil environment [2], this is an impracticable approach for applications, since once worn away, the brush cannot be replenished. Thus, a grafting-to approach needed to be developed, whereby brush-forming molecules would be present in oil solution, adsorbing on the surface to be lubricated, and readsorbing when necessary, in order to heal defects. This has required a new approach to the molecular design of such systems, since the approaches that work well in aqueous systems do not appear to function in oil.<br/>By the adoption of a new polymer architecture that maximizes the anchoring of chains to the surface, we have been able to develop an oil-soluble, brush-forming additive [3] that appears to function very effectively on steel, even at high pressures, under a variety of conditions.

Molecular design of polymer-brush-forming lubricant additives

ACS Spring 2022

The official archive and repository for all ACS Meetings & Expositions abstracts and select posters or presentations.