Nonequilibrium Molecular Simulations of New Ionic Lubricants at Metallic Surfaces: Prediction of the Friction.

We report nonequilibrium molecular dynamics of ionic liquids interacting with metallic surfaces. A specific set of interaction parameters for ionic liquids composed of alkylammonium cations and alkylsulfonate anions with an iron surface, which has been previously developed (J. Chem. Theory Comput.2012, 8, 3348) is used here. We develop a procedure for a quantitative prediction of the friction coefficient at different loads and shear rates. The simulated friction coefficient agrees very well with the available experimental ones. The dependence of friction on the load, shear velocity, surface topology, and length of alkyl side chains in the ionic liquid is also investigated. The changes in the frictional forces are explained in terms of the specific arrangements and orientations of groups forming the ionic liquid at the vicinity of the surface.