Effect of Mesogenic Phase and Structure of Liquid Crystals on Tribological Properties as Lubricant Additives

To develop a high-performance additive that can meet different operating conditions, three liquid crystals (LCs) were developed as additives for a base oil. The structures and thermal stabilities of the obtained LCs were characterized by nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR), Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy, mass spectroscopy (MS), and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA). The effects of mesogenic-phase temperature ranges on tribological properties were analyzed using differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and polarized optical microscopy (POM). UMT-TriboLab friction and wear tester was used to study the friction-reducing properties of LCs. The width of wear marks was observed by a Contour GT-K 3D profiler to illustrate the anti-wear performance of LCs. The friction surface was characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and Raman spectroscopy. It was demonstrated that, in comparison with the base oil, the addition of LCs caused a remarkable reduction in the coefficient of friction (21.57%) and wear width (31.82%). In addition, LCs show better tribological abilities in the mesogenic-phase temperature ranges. According to the results, we demonstrated that LCs can be used as lubricant additives, especially for several operating conditions under specific temperatures.