Molecules with a TEMPO-based head group as high-performance organic friction modifiers

High-performance organic friction modifiers(OFMs)added to lubricating oils are crucial for reducing energy loss and carbon footprint.To establish a new class of OFMs,we measured the friction and wear properties of N-(2,2,6,6-tetramethyl-1-oxyl-4-piperidinyl)dodecaneamide referred to as C12Amide-TEMPO.The effect of its head group chemistry,which is characterized by a rigid six-membered ring sandwiched by an amide group and a terminal free oxygen radical,was also investigated with both experiments and quantum mechanical(QM)calculations.The measurement results show that C12Amide-TEMPO outperforms the conventional OFMs of glyceryl monooleate(GMO)and stearic acid,particularly for load-carrying capacity,wear reduction,and stability of friction over time.The friction and wear reduction effect of C12Amide-TEMPO is also greatly superior to those of C12Ester-TEMPO and C12Amino-TEMPO,in which ester and amino groups replace the amide group,highlighting the critical role of the amide group.The QM calculation results suggest that,in contrast to C12Ester-TEMPO,C12Amino-TEMPO,and the conventional OFMs of GMO and stearic acid,C12Amide-TEMPO can form effective boundary films on iron oxide surfaces with a unique double-layer structure:a strong surface adsorption layer owing to the chemical interactions of the amide oxygen and free radical with iron oxide surfaces,and an upper layer owing to the interlayer hydrogen-bonding between the amide hydrogen and free radical or between the amide hydrogen and oxygen.Moreover,the intralayer hydrogen-bonding in each of the two layers is also possible.We suggest that in addition to strong surface adsorption,the interlayer and intralayer hydrogen-bonding also increases the strength of the boundary films by enhancing the cohesion strength,thereby resulting in the high tribological performance of C12Amide-TEMPO.The findings in this study are expected to provide new hints for the optimal molecular design of OFMs.

On-chip 3D rotation of oocyte based on a vibration-induced local whirling flow

We propose a novel on-chip 3D cell rotation method based on a vibration-induced flow.When circular vibration is applied to a microchip with micropillar patterns,a highly localized whirling flow is induced around the micropillars.The direction and velocity of this flow can be controlled by changing the direction and amplitude of the applied vibration.Furthermore,this flow can be induced on an open chip structure.In this study,we adopted a microchip with three micropillars arranged in a triangular configuration and an xyz piezoelectric actuator to apply the circular vibration.At the centre of the micropillars,the interference of the vibration-induced flows originating from the individual micropillars induces rotational flow.Consequently,a biological cell placed at this centre rotates under the influence of the flow.Under three-plane circular vibrations in the xy,xz or yz plane,the cell can rotate in both the focal and vertical planes of the microscope.Applying this 3D cell rotation method,we measured the rotational speeds of mouse oocytes in the focal and vertical planes as 63.7±4.0°s^(−1) and 3.5±2.1°s^(−1),respectively.Furthermore,we demonstrated the transportation and rotation of the mouse oocytes and re-positioned their nuclei into a position observable by microscope.