Highly Concentrated Electrolyte Superlubricants Enhanced by Interfacial Water Competition Around Chemically Active MgO Additives.

The low concentration of water-based lubricants and the high chemical inertness of the additives involved are often regarded as basic norms in the design of liquid lubricants. Herein, a novel liquid superlubricant of an aqueous solution containing a relatively high concentration of salt, lithium bis(trifluoromethanesulfonyl)imide (LiTFSI), is reported for the first time, and the superlubricity stability and load-bearing capacity of the optimized system (MgO0.10/LiTFSI10) are effectively strengthened by the addition of only trace (0.10 wt %) water-chemically active MgO additives. It demonstrates higher applicable loads, lower COF (∼0.004), and stability relative to the base solution. Only a trace amount of MgO additive is needed for the superlubricity, which makes up for the cost and environmental deficiencies of LiTFSI10. The weak interaction region between free water and the outer-layer water of Li+ hydration shells becomes a possible ultralow shear resistance sliding interface; the Mg(OH)2 layer, generated by the reaction of MgO with water, further creates additional weakly interacting interfaces, leading to the formation of an asymmetric contact between the clusters/particles within the hydrodynamic film by moderating the competition between interfacial water and free water, thus achieving high load-bearing macroscopic superlubricity. This study deepens the contribution of electrolyte concentration to ionic hydration and superlubricity due to the low shear slip layer formed by interfacial water competition with water-activated solid additives, providing new insights into the next generation of high load-bearing water-based liquid superlubricity systems.

Unravelling High-Load Superlubricity of Ionic Liquid Analogues by In Situ Raman: Incomplete Hydration Induced by Competitive Exchange of External Water with Crystalline Water.

A high load-carrying capacity is the key to the practicality of liquid superlubricity, but it is difficult to achieve high load and low friction simultaneously by relying solely on a liquid film. Herein, a choline chloride-based ionic liquid analogue (ILA) macroscale superlubricant is first reported by tuning down strong hydrogen bonding in the ILA via introducing 2-10 wt % water, with a high load of 160 MPa and a low coefficient of friction of 0.006-0.008. In situ Raman reveals that competitive exchange between external water and crystalline water induces weak H-bond-dominated incomplete hydration, conferring a low-shear interface and considerable load-carrying capacity inside the lubricant. It is a hydrodynamic lubrication film rather than a tribochemical/physical adsorption film, allowing it to be applied to friction pairs of various materials. This study unveils the principle of water mediation of high-viscosity ILAs and also provides new insights into the design of practical ILA-based superlubrication materials with high load-carrying capacity.

Tribological Properties of Laser Microtextured Surface Bonded With Composite Solid Lubricant at High Temperature.

A combination technology of the solid lubricant and the laser surface texturing (LST) can significantly improve the tribological properties of friction pairs. The plate sample was textured by fiber laser and composite lubricant of polyimide (PI) and molybdenum disulfide (MoS2) powders were filled in the microdimples. Sliding friction performances of micron-sized composite lubricant and nano-sized composite lubricant were investigated by ring-plate tribometer at temperatures ranging from room temperature (RT) to 400 °C. On the one hand, the results of the micron-sized composite lubricant show that the friction coefficient of the textured surface filled with composite lubricant (TS) exhibits the lowest level and the highest stability compared to a textured surface without solid lubrication, smooth surface without lubrication, smooth surface burnished with a layer of composite solid lubricant. The better dimple density range is 35-46%. The friction coefficients of the sample surface filled with micron-composite solid lubricant with the texture density of 35% are maintained at a low level (about 0.1) at temperatures ranging from RT to 300 °C. On the other hand, the results of the nano-sized composite lubricant show that these friction properties are better than those of MoS2-PI micron-sized composite. The friction coefficients of MoS2-PI-CNTs nano-sized composite solid lubricant are lower than those of the MoS2-PI composite lubricant at temperatures ranging from RT to 400 °C. In addition, the possible mechanisms involving the synergetic effect of the surface texture and the solid lubricant are discussed in the present work.