Synergism between bio-based oleate ester and low-concentration ZDDP under reciprocating contacts

In this study, a bio-based ester was experimentally tested under a reciprocating contact in terms of the tribological performance to assess the potential of bio-based materials as boundary lubrication additives for low Sulphated Ash, Phosphorus, and Sulphur (SAPS) lubricants. A synergy in tribological performance has been observed when the ethyl oleate was used with a low concentration of ZDDP, showing both lower friction and wear loss, compared to only ethyl oleate or Zinc dialkyldithiophosphates (ZDDP) as single additives in base oil. SEM-EDX and ToF-SIMS analyses confirm that the additive combination of ester and low-concentration ZDDP generates a more evenly distributed tribo-film than that for only ZDDP as an additive. Although the tribo-film thickness of the ester/ZDDP lubricant combination, measured with AFM, issmaller than that for only low-concentration ZDDP, the combination shows superior wear protection ability over ZDDP. Mass spectra from ToF-SIMS show that the main component of the film formed by the additive combination is zinc polyphosphate, while the film generated from low-concentration ZDDP consists of short-chain iron phosphate. It is proposed that the ethyl oleate present in the additive combination alleviates severe shear in the contact, which promotes the formation of a uniform tribo-film composed of glassy zinc polyphosphate. The formed tribo-film enhances the adsorption of ester fragments, improving the tribological performance compared to using only ester as an additive. The obtained results demonstrate the potential of bio-based esters to reduce ZDDP usage and move towards greener lubricants.