Hyperbranched Polysilicon Ionic Liquid Modified Polyamic Acid/Epoxy Resin Materials with "Solid-Liquid" Dual Lubrication Effect: A Molecular Dynamics Simulation Study

Abstract

Traditional epoxy resin (EP) wear-resistant lubricating materials primarily rely on "solid" lubrication, whose tribological properties fall short of the application requirements. Herein, we propose an innovative strategy to design a novel modifier—hyperbranched polysilicon ionic liquid (HSiIL), enabling EP to exhibit an excellent "solid-liquid" dual lubrication effect. Simultaneously, the friction mechanism is elucidated by molecular dynamics (MD) simulation. The results show that the incorporation of HSiIL and polyamic acid (PAA) significantly enhances the overall performance of EP. Particularly, the coefficient of friction of the resin decreased from 0.67 to 0.40 compared to neat EP, while the volume wear rate dropped from 12.4×10-5 mm3/(N·m) to 1.3×10-5 mm3/(N·m). This also lays the theoretical foundation for the development of high-performance wear-resistant lubricating materials.

Keywords: Hyperbranched polysilicon ionic liquid, Polyamic acid, Tribological properties, Molecular dynamics simulation