Tribological property of dendritic fibrous nano silica composite particle as lubricant additive

In this study, a novel Dendritic Fibrous Nano Silica (DFNS) solid-liquid composite lubricant additive (DFNS@ILs) was prepared by the simple of bi-continuous microemulsion polymerization and vacuum impregnation adsorption ionic liquids (ILs) method. The microstructure and chemical composition were characterized by transmission electron microscopy (TEM), scanning electron microscope (SEM), Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and X-ray diffraction (XRD). The oil lubrication properties of the DFNS@ILs were investigated and the results showed that the DFNS@ILs additive had the most excellent tribological properties when compared to the pure PAO6 oil, commercially available ZDDP and nano-silica. Moreover, DFNS@ILs have long-term stability as lubricant additives. Based on the analysis of the wear surfaces, it is concluded that the excellent performance of DFNS@ILs additive are owing to the synergistic lubrication effect of DFNS and ILs as well as the formation of transfer film, which makes it a promising lubricant material.