Oleate-Based Protic Ionic Liquids As Lubricants for Aluminum 1100

Because of their structures and tunable properties, viscosity among them, oleate-based protic ionic liquids (PILs) were used as lubricants for aluminum, aiming to apply them in metal forming processes. Three oleate-based PILs with three ammonium-based cations were tested as lubricants, in order to evaluate the influence of the cation structure on the tribological performance. Coefficient of friction (COF) determination and subsequent wear computations were conducted. Erichsen tests were also conducted to evaluate their performance in metal forming processes. Oleate-based PILs maintained a low COF value, with the formation of uniform tribofilms that promoted the wear reduction down to 98% compared to the dry condition. Considering wear, their performance surpassed the one of a studied commercial lubricant. In spite of this, Erichsen test revealed that the PILs yielded a performance comparable to that of the commercial lubricant. The advantages of the use of these PILs are their simple synthetic route, low cost, low toxicity, and chemical stability.