Mechanical and Lubrication Properties of Double Network Ion Gels Obtained by a One-Step Process.

Hiroyuki Arafune,Toshio Kamijo,Takaya Sato,Saika Honma,Yuma Watarai

doi:10.3390/ma15062113

Hiroyuki Arafune, Toshio Kamijo + Show 3 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.3390/ma15062113

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Journal: Materials	Publication Date: Mar 13, 2022
Citations: 4	License type: CC BY 4.0

Affiliation: National Institute of Technology, Tsuruoka College

Abstract

Human joints support us to reduce the impact on our body and move them smoothly. As they are composed of gel-like structures, gel materials with soft and resilient properties are expected, as lubricants, to provide high efficiency and a long lifetime for mechanical parts. While double network gels including ionic liquids as swelling agents possess high mechanical strength and stable low friction under high temperature or vacuum, their fabrication process is complex and time-consuming. In this study, we applied one-pot synthesis to a double network ion gel (DNIG) to obtain a thin gel film by a simple coating method and examined its thermal, mechanical and tribological properties. The DNIG was obtained by one-pot synthesis (DNIG-1) combining polycondensation of tetraethoxysilane and radical polymerization of methyl methacrylate to form silica and poly(methyl methacrylate) as a 1st and 2nd network, respectively. Such obtained DNIG-1 was characterized and compared with DNIG obtained by a conventional two-step process (DNIG-2). Thermogravimetric analysis and the compressive stress–strain test showed high thermal stability and mechanical strength of DNIG-1. As friction at the glass/DNIG-1 interface showed high friction compared with that at glass/DNIG-2, various counterface materials were applied to examine their effect on the friction of DNIG-1. As SUS304/DNIG-1 showed much lower friction compared with glass/DNIG-1, the difference in the friction was presumably due to the different adsorption forces and compatibility between the materials.

Highlights

SRT materials are expected, as a novel lubricant strategy, to provide high efficiency and a long lifetime for mechanical parts where low friction is maintained under high pressure without abrasive wear of counterface materials
double network ion gel (DNIG)-1 could be fabricated as a thin film, which showed that the one-pot could be fabricated as a thin film, which showed that the onesynthesis process can can be applied as aas simple coating process with a thin filmfilm of lubricant pot synthesis process be applied a simple coating process with a thin of lubrigel on theonvarious surface
One-pot synthesis of double network ion gel was successfully achieved by combining polycondensation of TEOS and radical polymerization of methyl methacrylate (MMA)

Summary

Introduction

After getting up in the morning, we rub the sleep from our eyes, eat breakfast and brush our teeth, where friction is included in all of these motions In these motions, human cartilages support us to reduce the impact on human joints and move smoothly [1]. Gel materials have fascinated the researchers of tribology who study the principle and application of friction, lubrication and wear to invent novel lubricants with soft and resilient properties [3–5]. Such development of soft and resilient tribomaterials (SRT materials [6]) is distinguished from the conventional process to obtain hard materials such as diamond-like carbon (DLC). SRT materials are expected, as a novel lubricant strategy, to provide high efficiency and a long lifetime for mechanical parts where low friction is maintained under high pressure without abrasive wear of counterface materials

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Discussion

Conclusion