Novel high performance lubricants for industrial and biomedical applications

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The development of a new generation of lubricants is of paramount technological and economic relevance as it is estimated that half of our energy consumption is dissipated as friction. ***Liquid Crystals (LCs) are anisotropic viscoelastic materials; the combination of fluid-like flow with crystal-like anisotropy makes its phases interesting as modifiers of interfacial behavior when applied as lubricants. The anisotropy of the viscosity coefficient, with respect to different flow directions, is a unique property of the liquid crystalline phase. The ability of liquid crystalline materials to form ordered boundary layers with good load-carrying capacity, and to lower the friction coefficients, wear rates and contact temperatures of sliding surfaces, thus contributing to increase the components service life and save energy has been widely demonstrated. ***Another method to improve significantly the properties of lubricants is the addition of nanoparticles. The ability of these additives to form ordered boundary layers with good load-carrying capacity, and to lower the friction coefficients, wear rates and contact temperatures of sliding surfaces has been demonstrated. ***Although the performance and life of artificial synovial joints is generally good, lubrication remains a key factor because one of the main forms of their failure is due to loosening of the implant caused by wear particles. There is very little direct evidence for the role played by the composition of the healthy and diseased synovial fluid and the structure and properties of this biofluid. If we understood this we might be able to design better artificial joints and possibly even repair damaged, natural joints. Due to the bio-compatible nature of most lyotropic liquid crystalline materials, they have been considered as viable candidates to be used as bio-lubricants.***The main objective of this research program is the design, testing and optimization of a new generation of lubricants and bio-lubricants with ultra-low friction and reduced wear. The computational modeling and experiments will offer an efficient pathway to formulate novel lubricants which are economically viable. To improve lubrication efficiency and therefore reduce energy consumption we aim to develop a model of lubrication flow using liquid crystals or nanoparticles as additives that is experimentally validated and can be implemented into modern computational engineering and design tools. These tools will make it possible to design the next generation of sustainable high performance lubricants. **