Recent
studies have revealed that phosphate ester lubricant additives
undergo decomposition and polymerization when confined between two
iron-based surfaces, forming tribofilms that play a crucial role in
antiwear and friction reduction. However, the behaviors of decomposition
and polymerization, as well as the mechanisms behind the antiwear
and friction-reducing properties of these tribofilms, remain largely
unexplored. To address these gaps, we employed reactive force field
molecular dynamics (ReaxFF-MD) to investigate the tribochemical reactions
and tribological properties of tricresyl phosphate (TCP) and tri-n-butyl phosphate (TNBP) confined between three types of
iron-based substrates with varying oxygen content: α-Fe⟨110⟩,
amorphous FeO (a-FeO), and amorphous Fe2O3 (a-Fe2O3) surfaces. Our findings indicate that TCP and
TNBP molecules primarily undergo dissociation of P–O and C–O
bonds, a process influenced by both the oxygen content of the substrates
and the molecular structure of the additives. Following the dissociation
of these bonds, the released carbon–hydrogen groups adsorb
onto the substrates, leading to the formation of adsorbed carbon
films on the surfaces. Simultaneously, the dissociation of P–O
and C–O bonds triggers polymerization reactions, resulting
in the creation of organic polyphosphate iron groups confined between
the surfaces coated with adsorbed carbon films. Due to the difference
in the contact state and shearing behavior between the carbon films
and the organic polyphosphate iron groups, substrates with higher
oxygen content exhibit relatively higher friction forces for both
TCP and TNBP molecules. Additionally, TCP molecules demonstrate lower
friction forces compared to those of TNBP molecules on all three iron-based
substrates.