Nano-silica greases based on alkylnaphthalene base oils with various side chain and their rheological behaviors and tribological properties

doi:10.1016/j.cjche.2025.05.044

Chinese Journal of Chemical Engineering ›› 2025, Vol. 88 ›› Issue (12): 65-74.DOI: 10.1016/j.cjche.2025.05.044

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Nano-silica greases based on alkylnaphthalene base oils with various side chain and their rheological behaviors and tribological properties

Zhiping Zhao¹, Chunfeng Zhang², Xiaojun Zhang², Qiong Tang¹, Lei Liu¹, Jinxiang Dong¹

1. Shanxi Key Laboratory of Chemical Product Engineering, College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Taiyuan University of Technology, Taiyuan 030024, China;
2. Shanxi Lu'an Taihang Lubricant Technology Co., Ltd., Changzhi 046000, China

Received:2025-02-08 Revised:2025-04-30 Accepted:2025-05-07 Online:2025-08-16 Published:2026-02-09
Contact: Qiong Tang,E-mail:tangqiong@tyut.edu.cn;Lei Liu,E-mail:liulei@tyut.edu.cn
Supported by:
The financial support by Shanxi Province Basic Research Program Joint Funding Project (Lu'an) (202403011242003), National Natural Science Foundation (U1910202), and the Special fund for Science and Technology Innovation Teams of Shanxi Province (201705D131028-9) are gratefully acknowledged.

Nano-silica greases based on alkylnaphthalene base oils with various side chain and their rheological behaviors and tribological properties

Zhiping Zhao¹, Chunfeng Zhang², Xiaojun Zhang², Qiong Tang¹, Lei Liu¹, Jinxiang Dong¹

1. Shanxi Key Laboratory of Chemical Product Engineering, College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Taiyuan University of Technology, Taiyuan 030024, China;
2. Shanxi Lu'an Taihang Lubricant Technology Co., Ltd., Changzhi 046000, China

通讯作者: Qiong Tang,E-mail:tangqiong@tyut.edu.cn;Lei Liu,E-mail:liulei@tyut.edu.cn
基金资助:
The financial support by Shanxi Province Basic Research Program Joint Funding Project (Lu'an) (202403011242003), National Natural Science Foundation (U1910202), and the Special fund for Science and Technology Innovation Teams of Shanxi Province (201705D131028-9) are gratefully acknowledged.

Abstract

Abstract: Nano-silica grease (NSG), an innovative lubricant, is commonly synthesized using base oil thickened with SiO₂, the choice of appropriate base oil is crucial for obtaining superior performance NSG. Herein, a series of alkylnaphthalene (AN) base oils with different side-chain lengths were synthesized through the alkylation reaction between naphthalene and α-olefin. We first reported the synthesis of NSGs based on the AN base oils, and investigated the influence of the synthetic AN base oils on the rheological behaviors and tribological characteristics of the resulted NSGs. The results indicated that the structural strength of the grease increased as the alkyl chain length rose because it reinforced the contact between the alkylnaphthalene base oil and nano-silica thickener. Meanwhile, tribological tests were conducted to examine the effect of various AN base oils on the lubricating performance of the formed NSGs. The tested results showed that increasing the side chain length of the AN could elevate the friction-reducing and anti-wear properties of the NSG.

Key words: Alkylnaphthalene, Base oil, Nano-silica grease, Rheology, Attrition, Product engineering

摘要： Nano-silica grease (NSG), an innovative lubricant, is commonly synthesized using base oil thickened with SiO₂, the choice of appropriate base oil is crucial for obtaining superior performance NSG. Herein, a series of alkylnaphthalene (AN) base oils with different side-chain lengths were synthesized through the alkylation reaction between naphthalene and α-olefin. We first reported the synthesis of NSGs based on the AN base oils, and investigated the influence of the synthetic AN base oils on the rheological behaviors and tribological characteristics of the resulted NSGs. The results indicated that the structural strength of the grease increased as the alkyl chain length rose because it reinforced the contact between the alkylnaphthalene base oil and nano-silica thickener. Meanwhile, tribological tests were conducted to examine the effect of various AN base oils on the lubricating performance of the formed NSGs. The tested results showed that increasing the side chain length of the AN could elevate the friction-reducing and anti-wear properties of the NSG.

关键词: Alkylnaphthalene, Base oil, Nano-silica grease, Rheology, Attrition, Product engineering

Zhiping Zhao, Chunfeng Zhang, Xiaojun Zhang, Qiong Tang, Lei Liu, Jinxiang Dong. Nano-silica greases based on alkylnaphthalene base oils with various side chain and their rheological behaviors and tribological properties[J]. Chinese Journal of Chemical Engineering, 2025, 88(12): 65-74.

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Nano-silica greases based on alkylnaphthalene base oils with various side chain and their rheological behaviors and tribological properties

Nano-silica greases based on alkylnaphthalene base oils with various side chain and their rheological behaviors and tribological properties

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