The recently introduced non-aqueous lyotropic liquid crystals have been investigated for their lubrication properties under a previous NSF grant (MSM-8716928). They demonstrated performance as lubricants far superior to commercial greases with respect to the friction coefficients, which were as low as 0.02. In addition, they are able to accommodate additives of such a nature that they cannot be used in conventional greases. These factors indicate potential for non-aqueous lyotropic liquid crystals to develop into a new class of advanced lubricants. The project funded under this grant is one part of a coordinated basic research program to probe the mechanism for the ultralow friction coefficients and to synthesize and incorporate new additives into the formulations. The new additives, adjusted to the properties of liquid crystals, will be synthesized at the University of Turin, Italy. Characterization of the liquid crystal lubricants using various state-of-the-art techniques from colloid chemistry will be performed at Clarkson University (this grant). Tribological analysis will be performed at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor (funded by the Tribology Program). Travel funds for coordination of the research have been provided by the Italian National Research Council. The program at Clarkson will emphasize three points: (1) An explanation of the low friction coefficients. (2) exploitation of the structure of the liquid crystal lubricant to incorporate lubricant additives with structures incompatible with hydrocarbon based lubricants. (3) The integrity of the liquid crystal structure against decomposition products of the original components, which could potentially move the multicomponent system into a region of the phase space where liquid crystals do not form.
