Tribological Performance of Lithium Ionic Liquids as Lubricant Additives in Poly(ethylene glycol)

Lithium ionic liquids (ILs) based on 2-oxazolidinone, urea, triglyme, tetraglyme, lithium tetrafluoroborate, lithium hexafluorophosphate, lithium trifluoromethanesulfonate and lithium bis(trifluoromethane sulfonyl) imide have been prepared in poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) and evaluated as lubricating additives for steel/steel contacts at room temperature. These ILs had excellent solubility in PEG and exhibited much better friction-reducing and anti-wear proprieties than conventional IL 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium bis(trifluoromethane sulfonyl) imide.