Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jul 4, 2025

Synthesis of Ionic Liquid Based Electrolytes, Assembly of Li-ion Batteries, and Measurements of Performance at High Temperature
Published on: December 20, 2016
Exploring the Effect Mechanism of Alkyl Chain Lengths on the Tribological Performance of Ionic Liquids
Guowei Huang1, Li Sun1, Luxing Li1
1State Key Laboratory of Advanced Processing and Recycling of Nonferrous Metals, Lanzhou University of Technology, 730050 Lanzhou, Gansu, P. R. China.
Abstract:
In this work, four kinds of imidazole phosphate ionic liquids (ILs) with different anionic and cationic alkyl chain lengths were synthesized. The physicochemical properties and tribological performance of ILs were evaluated. The experimental results revealed that the tribological properties of ILs were positively correlated with the cationic chain length and negatively correlated with the anionic chain length. The effect mechanism can be summarized in two aspects: on the one hand, anions with shorter alkyl chain lengths possess stronger adsorption performance and better film forming ability on the friction pair surfaces, which makes the ILs form more robust and stable lubricating film; on the other hand, ILs with longer cationic alkyl chain lengths possess milder tribo-chemical reactions, which can effectively enhance the tribological performance and decrease the corrosion wear.
Related Concept Videos
Physical Properties of Alkanes
Molecular and Ionic Solids
Molecular Solids
Molecular crystalline solids, such as ice, sucrose (table sugar), and iodine, are solids that are composed of neutral molecules as their constituent units. These molecules are held together by weak intermolecular forces such as London dispersion forces, dipole-dipole interactions, or hydrogen bonds, which...
Intermolecular Forces and Physical Properties
Structure and Physical Properties of Alkynes
In nature, compounds containing both carbon and hydrogen are known as "hydrocarbons". Aliphatic hydrocarbons are compounds whose molecules contain saturated single bonds (i.e., alkanes) or unsaturated double or triple bonds. Alkenes contain carbon–carbon double bonds and have a structural formula CnH2n. Unsaturated hydrocarbons containing carbon–carbon triple bonds are called "alkynes" and are structurally represented by the formula CnH2n-2.
The...
Alkyl Halides
Alkyl halides are halogen-substituted alkanes wherein one or more hydrogen atoms of an alkane is replaced by a halogen atom such as fluorine, chlorine, bromine, or iodine. The carbon atom in an alkyl halide is bonded to the halogen atom, which is sp3-hybridized and exhibits a tetrahedral shape.
Unlike alkyl halides, compounds in which a halogen atom is bonded to an sp2 -hybridized carbon atom of a carbon-carbon double bond (C=C) are called vinyl halides. Whereas aryl...
Physical Properties of Carboxylic Acid Derivatives
Among the carboxylic acid derivatives, the boiling points of acid chlorides and esters are very similar and are the lowest in the series. Acid anhydrides have slightly higher boiling...

