Effect of ionic liquid modified indium tin oxide as additive on tribological properties of grease

Abstract

This study investigates the formulation of composite lubricating greases by incorporating SnO2, ITO, and ATO nanoparticles as additives into a polyurea base grease with excellent additive sensitivity, aiming to explore the physicochemical and tribological properties of the composite lubricating greases. Additionally, two categories of three different ionic liquids were selected to modify the nano metal oxides, and the modified powders were characterized to investigate the tribological properties and conductivity of the polyurea grease after incorporating the ionically modified nano metal oxides. The experimental results demonstrate that the nano metal oxides, when used as lubricating grease additives, can form stable boundary lubrication films, exhibiting excellent anti-wear and anti-friction properties. The ionic liquid-modified nano metal oxides exhibit outstanding anti-friction and anti-wear properties, along with increased conductivity. Particularly, the use of lactate-based ionic liquid for modifying nano metal oxides shows superior degradation, anti-friction, anti-wear, and conductivity properties, holding promising prospects for various applications.