Abstract
Since the idea of using ionic liquids (ILs) as lubricants was raised in 2001, many studies have been conducted in this area and results have demonstrated superior lubricating performance for a variety of ionic liquids. It is widely believed that tribochemical reactions occur between the metal surface and the IL during the wear process to form a protective tribo-boundary film on the contact area that reduces friction and wear. However, the study of this critical boundary film has been limited to top surface two-dimensional topography examination and chemical analysis in the literature. A more comprehensive characterization is needed to help understand the film formation process and the lubricating mechanism. This study demonstrated a multi-technique three-dimensional approach to characterize the IL-formed boundary films, including top surface morphology examination, cross section nanostructure characterization, and layered chemical analysis. Characterization was carried out on both ferrous and aluminum surfaces lubricated by an ammonium IL. The focused-ion-beam (FIB) technique enabled TEM/EDS examination on the cross section of the boundary film to provide direct measurement of the film thickness, visualization of the nanostructure, and analysis of composition. In addition, composition-depth profiles were generated using XPS aided by ion-sputtering to reveal the composition change at different levels of the boundary film to investigate the film formation process.
