Self-assembly of glycerol monooleate micelles with scientifically and industrially relevant organic additives

Friction modifiers are a critical component of engine oil formulations and serve to reduce the abrasive damage and energy losses between two contacting surfaces. As a result, the surfaces remain intact for much longer time periods (engine lifetime) and fuel efficiency increases dramatically. Organic friction modifiers are conventionally molecular surfactants, thus their capacity for partitioning from the bulk oil phase to the metal surface is dependent on an interplay of interactive forces. Therefore, understanding self-assembly behaviour under different solution conditions and in the presence of different chemical species (additives) is a key factor in the design and deployment of these systems. In this work, we will investigate the self-assembly of glycerol monooleate - a widely used organic friction modifier - in dodecane with different, systematically varied organic additives by small angle neutron scattering. These measurements will allow monitoring of structural evolution of the micelles in response to the additive chemistry and concentration. We anticipate that changes are likely to drastically alter friction modification. Hence, these findings may offer new approaches for the design and control of cheaper and more effective engine oil formulations that will significantly reduce cost and emissions.