Grant: Engage Grants Program

Energy efficient processes are central to the development of a green economy. A key component of energy efficiency is the use of lubricants as these generally reduce friction, wear and corrosion of moving mechanical parts. Mineral and synthetic oil lubricants have been used successfully for many years, however, many mineral oils oxidize rapidly at temperatures above 100°C. This is a serious drawback to their effective application resulting in insufficient lubricity and unacceptably short drain intervals. The development of synthetic oils, including groups such as silicones, poly-alpha olefins, polyalkylene glycols, polyol esters, and fluorinated derivatives, circumvented these problems. Additives are also often added to the bulk synthetic oil to improve performance. These include antioxidants (phenolic compounds, aromatic amines, sulfur containing compounds, or inorganic zinc and copper containing materials) and extreme pressure and antiwear agents. Oils must be highly stable and chemically inert under increasingly harsh friction conditions, and traditional additives are now often found to be inadequate. Ionic liquids on the other hand, are ideal candidates for synthetic oil additives. They offer a new approach for the high performance lubricant market due to their unique combination of material properties including: negligible volatility, low flammability, high thermal stability, low melting point, broad liquid range and controlled miscibility with organic compounds. We are keenly interested in exploring the potential of ionic liquids as new lubricants via the proposed project. We will prepare and characterize new ionic liquids for this purpose and assess the suitability of ILs as additives for lubrication oils. Due to the confidential nature of the work, details on the market, partner, and specific project are revealed ONLY in the confidential portion of the proposal.