Combining Tailored Ionic Liquids with Ti3C2Tx MXenes for an Enhanced Load-Carrying Capacity Under Boundary Lubrication

    Philipp G. Grützmachera, Roman Neuhausera, Kristof Stagelb, Katharina Bica-Schröderb, Guido Boidic, Carsten Gachota, Andreas Rosenkranzd

    • aInstitute for Engineering Design and Product Development Research Unit Tribology E307-05, TU Wien, 1060 Vienna, Austria
    • bInstitut für Angewandte Synthesechemie (IAS), Sustainable Organic Synthesis and Catalysis research group, TU Wien, 1060 Vienna, Austria
    • cAC2T research GmbHViktor-Kaplan-Straße 2/C, 2700 Wiener Neustadt, Austria
    • dDepartment of Chemical Engineering, Biotechnology and Materials (FCFM), Universidad de Chile, Santiago 8370448, Chile

    To improve the efficiency and lifetime of mechanical components, new lubrication systems are needed. Two complementary material classes, which have demonstrated a promising tribological performance, are ionic liquids and MXenes (2D transition metal carbides and nitrides). Herein, Ti3C2Tx MXenes are used as additives in ionic liquids (ILs) to improve their load-carrying capacity under boundary lubrication. The specifically synthesized ILs share the same cation (trioctyl(methyl)phosphonium) but different anions (dimethyl phosphate and dibutyl phosphate for IL1 and IL2, respectively) to assess the effect of the anion’s alkyl chain length. The wear reduction performance is tested with a cylinder-on-ring contact in a standardized Brugger tester, which is suitable to study boundary lubrication and to assess the antiwear ability of the IL/MXene lubricant blends. MXenes indicate an excellent dispersibility in both ILs over 24 h. It is found that, irrespective of the used IL, the addition of MXenes always increases the load-carrying capacity. Particularly, significantly reduced wear and thus a high load-carrying capacity are observed for the combination IL2/MXenes, which also outperform fully formulated commercially available lubricants such as turbine oils.

    Read the publication that featured this abstract

    Get in touch

    For more information on flow chemistry systems and services please use the contact methods below.

    Call us on +44 (0)1284 728659 or Email us