Behavior of Ionic Liquids Under Nanoconfinement Greatly Affects Actual Friction

Ionic liquids (ILs) are organic salts consisting of anions and cations that exist as liquids at room temperature. ILs exhibit many attractive properties such as negligible volatility, low flammability, and relatively high thermal stability. These properties can be varied in a controlled fashion through systematic changes in the molecular structure of their constituent ions. Some recent studies have aimed to use ILs as new lubricant materials. However, the behavior of ILs as lubricants on the sliding interfaces has not been elucidated. In this chapter, we describe the nano- and macrolubrication properties of some ILs with different types of anions using resonance shear measurement (RSM) and conventional ball-on-plate-type tribotests, respectively. This study reveals that the properties observed by RSM for nanoscale systems can provide important insights for the study of the friction coefficients (macrolubrication properties) obtained by tribotests

Development of Low-Friction Ion Gels for Industrial Applications

Friction reduction is imperative for improving the service life and energy efficiency of mechanical systems. Ion gels using ionic liquids (ILs) as swelling agents are expected to be stable gel lubricants owing to the high thermal stability and negligible volatility of ILs; they can maintain their swollen state even under harsh conditions. Therefore, we investigated two types of ion gels: an IL-substituted double-network gel (DN ion S-gel), in which the water in the DN hydrogel is replaced by the IL 3-ethyl-1-methyl-imidazolium ethylsulfate; and a DN ion gel containing N,N-diethyl-N-(2-methoxyethyl)-N-methyl-ammonium bis(trifluoromethylsulfonyl)imide (DEME-TFSI), where one of the polymer backbones is a network of poly(N,N-diethyl-N-(2-methacryloylethyl)-N-methylammonium bis(trifluoromethylsulfonyl)imide), an IL-type polymer based on our previous synthetic study of IL polymer technology. The DN ion S-gel and DN ion gel achieved compression strengths of 25 and 30 MPa, respectively, and were thermally stable until 196°C and 335°C (10% weight-loss temperature), respectively. The coefficient of friction remained stable and low (0.02) after repeated measurements under harsh conditions (high temperature or vacuum conditions), affirming the durability of the DN ion gel

Synthesis of Mesoporous Metal Oxide by the Thermal Decomposition of Oxalate Precursor

A synthesis method was newly developed to prepare mesoporous transition metal oxides by thermal decomposition of transition metal oxalates, and the method was advantageous in its versatility, low cost, and environmental friendliness. Various mesoporous transition metal oxides were successfully synthesized by the newly developed method, such as magnetic γ-Fe₂O₃, CoFe₂O₄, and NiFe₂O₄, Mn_<i>x</i>O_<i>y</i>, Co₃O₄, and NiO. Morphology, structure, and magnetic property of the synthesized mesoporous transition metal oxides were characterized by XRD, TG-DTA, SEM, TEM, quantum design SQUID, and N₂ sorption techniques. From the dependency of the heating rate, calcination time, and calcination temperature on the metal oxide structures, it was revealed that the calcination temperature was the major factor to determine the final mesoporous structure of the metal oxides. The mesoporous structures were well constructed by their corresponding metal oxide nanoparticles resulting from oxalate thermal decomposition

Tribological Properties of Double-Network Gels Substituted by Ionic Liquids

Since human body joints have a gel-like structure with low friction that persists for several decades, hydrogels have attracted much interest for developing low-friction materials. However, such advantages can hardly be realized in industrial usage because water in the gel evaporates easily and the gel deswells. The substitution of water with an ionic liquid (IL) is one of the effective ways to overcome this problem. In this study, we substituted water in a double network (DN) hydrogel with 3-ethyl-1-methyl-imidazolium ethylsulfate (EMI-EtSulf), a hydrophilic IL, via a simple solvent exchange method to obtain a DN ion gel. A compressive test and thermogravimetric analysis showed that the DN ion gel has a high compression fracture stress and improved thermal properties, with the difference in 10% loss of temperature being &Delta;T10 = 234 &deg;C. A friction test conducted using a reciprocating tribometer showed that the friction of a glass ball/DN ion gel was relatively higher than that of a glass ball/DN hydrogel. Because the minimum coefficient of friction (COF) value increased after substitution, the increase in polymer adhesion caused by the electrostatic shielding of the surface moieties of glass and poly 2-acrylamidomethylpropanesulfonic acid (PAMPS) was considered the main contributor to the high friction. As the COF value decreased with increasing temperature, the DN ion gel can achieve low friction via the restriction of polymer adhesion at high temperatures, which is difficult in the DN hydrogel owing to drying

Low Friction, Lubricity, and Durability of Polymer Brush Coatings, Characterized Using the Relaxation Tribometer Technique †

Among the possible solutions for achieving low friction, polymer brushes that are grafted onto surfaces are good candidates. The tribological characterization of such layers becomes more difficult when the friction is lower: the signal-to-noise ratio of the friction force that is measured with conventional tribometers impedes the precise quantification. Therefore, we have applied a new technique that has been developed at the Laboratory of Tribology and System Dynamics (LTDS), called the &lsquo;oscillating relaxation tribometer&rsquo;. The advantage of this original technique is that it characterizes low friction with unequalled sensitivity. The lower the friction, the better the precision, and it permits obtaining the &lsquo;friction law&rsquo; directly from robust and rapid experimental tests. In this study, the samples that have been used are the ionic liquid-type polymer brushes (ILPBs) with different thicknesses, which have been grafted onto silicon wafers and steel coupons. The counter-face is a mirror-polished steel ball. We show that (i) a thick ILPB layer on silicon is very resistant to high contact pressure, up to 555 MPa; (ii) the friction behavior that is obtained is close to that of a Newtonian viscous one, even under maximum normal loads; (iii) poorer results are obtained for the thinner sample; and (iv) the repetition, up to 5000 oscillations on the same surface, does not affect the friction damping of the contact, which demonstrates that this film provides a favorable resistance to friction under severe contact conditions. In addition, the feasibility of grafting onto steel surfaces is demonstrated. The results are then discussed, with respect to friction and dissipation

Lubrication Properties of Ammonium-Based Ionic Liquids Confined between Silica Surfaces Using Resonance Shear Measurements

To evaluate the friction properties of new lubrication systems, two types of ammonium-based ionic liquids (ILs), <i>N</i>,<i>N</i>-diethyl-<i>N</i>-methyl-<i>N</i>-(2-methoxyethyl) ammonium tetrafluoroborate ([DEME]­[BF₄]) and <i>N</i>,<i>N</i>-diethyl-<i>N</i>-methyl-<i>N</i>-(2-methoxyethyl) ammonium bis­(trifluoromethanesulfonyl) imide ([DEME]­[TFSI]), were investigated by resonance shear measurements (RSM) and reciprocating type tribotests between silica (glass) surfaces. RSM revealed that an IL layer of ca. 2 nm in thickness was maintained between the silica surfaces under an applied load of 0.40 mN ∼ 1.2 mN. The relative intensity of the RMS signal indicated that the friction of the system was lower for [DEME]­[BF₄], 0.12, than that of [DEME]­[TFSI], 0.18. On the other hand, the friction coefficients μ_k obtained from the tribotests of [DEME]­[BF₄] were lower than that of [DEME]­[TFSI] for sliding velocities in the range of 5.0 × 10^–4 m s^–1 to 3.0 × 10^–2 m s^–1 under applied loads of 196–980 mN. The friction coefficients obtained by the tribotest are discussed with reference to the RSM results

Increased Prevalence of Atopic Dermatitis in Children Aged 0–3 Years Highly Exposed to Parabens

The prevalence of allergic diseases, such as bronchial asthma, atopic dermatitis, nasal allergies (pollinosis), and food allergies, has been increasing in many countries. The hygiene hypothesis was recently considered from the perspective of exposure to antimicrobial agents and preservatives, such as parabens (CAS number, 94-13-3). It currently remains unclear whether parabens, which are included in many daily consumer products such as cosmetics, shampoos, and personal care products as preservative antimicrobial agents, induce or aggravate allergies. Therefore, the aim of the present study was to examine the relationship between exposure to parabens and the prevalence of allergic diseases in Japanese children. The cross-sectional epidemiology of 236 children aged 0–3 years who underwent health examinations in Shika town in Japan assessed individual exposure to parabens using urinary concentrations of parabens. The results obtained showed that the prevalence of atopic dermatitis was significantly higher in children with high urinary concentrations of parabens than in those with low concentrations (p &lt; 0.001). This relationship remained significant after adjustments for confounding factors, such as age, sex, Kaup’s index, and passive smoking (p &lt; 0.001). In conclusion, the present results from a population study suggested a relationship between atopic dermatitis and exposure to parabens. A longitudinal study using a larger sample number and a detailed examination of atopic dermatitis, including EASI scores and exposure to parabens, will be necessary