Wear resistance by copolymers with controlled structure under boundary lubrication conditions

Abstract

Lubricants are of paramount importance in protecting metallic contact surfaces and reducing friction. The viscosity of lubricating oil can be engineered by introducing long linear polymers, such as poly(lauryl methacrylate) (PLMA). In particular, the formation of adsorption films by using polymers with hydroxy or amino side groups has attracted much attention in recent years. In this study, copolymers with controlled structure were synthesised by SARA ATRP, which can be used in large scale production. A comparison of friction and wear under boundary lubrication was conducted using both statistical and block copolymers with low Ð. Friction test results using a reciprocating sliding machine (SRV) showed that the block copolymers were less likely to desorb from the metal surface than the statistical copolymers. In addition, the wear evaluation after the SRV test showed that the block copolymer had less wear and less wear debris.