Lubrication by hydration shells that surround, and are firmly attached to, charges in water, and yet are highly fluid, provide a new mode for the extreme reduction of friction in aqueous media. We report new measurements, using a mica surface-force balance, on several different systems which exhibit hydration lubrication, extending earlier studies significantly to shed new light on the nature and limits of this mechanism. These include lubrication by hydrated ions trapped between charged surfaces, and boundary lubrication by surfactants, by polyzwitterionic brushes and by close-packed layers of phosphatidylcholine vesicles. Sliding friction coefficients as low as 10(-4) or even lower, and mean contact pressures of up to 17 MPa or higher are indicated. This suggests that the hydration lubrication mechanism may underlie low-friction sliding in biological systems, in which such pressures are rarely exceeded.

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The lubricant film thickness between two contacting surfaces is important for the evaluation of lubrication effectiveness. According to the elastohydrodynamic lubrication theory, the film thickness of pure water is usually on the order of a few nanometers. It was found, however, that microcontent of oil contamination can cause a lubricant film more than 100 nm, much thicker than the predicted. The effect of micro-oil content in water between a smooth plate and a highly polished steel ball was investigated. The film forming characteristic of such films was presented. The film formation mechanism and influencing factors were discussed.

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The effect of surface hydrophilicity on the water film confined within a nanogap between a smooth plate and a highly polished steel ball has been investigated. It was found that the confined water film formed the thicker lubricate film than the prediction of elastic-isoviscous lubrication theory. Experimental results indicated that the hydrophobic surface induced the thicker water film than the hydrophilic one. It is thought that the “structured” interfacial water layer is formed between the solid surfaces and the hydrophobic group induces the more ordered hydrogen-bonding network of clathrate cages which forms the thicker water film than hydrophilic one.