Friction and Wear Behavior of 1-Octyl-3-methylimidazolium Lactate Ionic Liquid as Lubricant in Steel–Steel Contacts

Abstract

The friction and wear behavior of 1-octyl-3-methylimidazolium lactate ionic liquid (L-L108) between steel surfaces was investigated in ball-on-disc sliding friction tests. At an applied load of 5 N and rotating speed of 200 rpm, the friction coefficient of L-L108 was measured as 0.023, which is about one third and one fifth the values of ionic liquid L-P108 (0.068) and SAE 10W-40 engine oil (0.107), respectively. Studies on wear surfaces show that the wear morphology improved when lubricated with L-L108. In addition, the anticorrosion property of L-L108 is better than that of L-P108. Possible mechanisms behind these encouraging performances of L-L108 are discussed and it was found that the interactions between L-L108 and steel surfaces are possible reasons for the reduction in friction coefficient and the improved wear morphology.

Keywords:

• Fluorocarbons
• friction mechanisms
• ferrous alloys
• steel
• corrosion

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant Number 51575285); the Natural Science Foundation of Shandong Province (Grant Numbers ZR2016EEP15, ZR2017LEE014); Research and Development Plan of Higher Education of Shandong Province (Grant Number J16LB03); and Key Research Project of Shandong Province (Grant Number 2017GGX30136).