AVS 61st International Symposium & Exhibition
    Thin Film Monday Sessions
       Session TF-MoA

Invited Paper TF-MoA10
Tailoring Polymeric Structures on Surfaces for Lubrication

Monday, November 10, 2014, 5:00 pm, Room 305

Session: Self-Assembled Monolayers, Layer-by-Layer Assemblies, and Hydrophobic/Amphiphobic Thin Films
Presenter: Nicholas Spencer, ETH Zürich, Switzerland
Correspondent: Click to Email
Nature generally lubricates its tribosystems in water, using sugar chains for lubricity, immobilized on a protein backbone that links them to the surface. These glycoproteins function by being able to immobilize water near the sliding surfaces. Man's attempts to mimic this behavior have involved end-grafted, hydrophilic polymers, and much has been published on the use of poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) to this end. Man-made machines are more challenging to lubricate than those in nature, since they generally involve hard-hard contact, which nature usually avoids. PEG has been useful as a model system for aqueous lubrication, but has certain inherent problems, including a lack of stability. This presentation will therefore focus on "life after PEG", covering alternative water-compatible, polymer-brush systems, those created by grafting-from methods, and finally the extension of these approaches into a non-aqueous environment: oil.