Developments in fluorinated liquid lubricants and lubricant additives

Modern technology places increasing demands on equipment performance via a combination of design, cost and performance parameters such as miniaturization, a long life, and maintenance-free units which are sealed for life and can withstand extreme temperatures and have zero failures. At the leading edge of design in advanced technology such as magnetic data storage, semiconductor processing, aerospace, vacuum, electronics and automotives, problems can arise because of lubricant degradation when conventional fluids are at the limit of their performance. Evaporation, polymerization, carbonization, etc of only a small volume of oil may be the cause of a catastrophic and expensive failure of critical equipment. The identification of lubricants and functional fluids likely to be available by the turn of the century is probably the first stage in the design process. Work in Europe and the USA suggests that perfluoropolyethers and their derivatives, whilst currently falling short of anticipated requirements, represent today the best starting point for the development of advanced liquid lubricants and lubricant additives. This paper will cover this expanding family of lubricants and greases and the wide combination of high-performance properties they offer.