Tribology Online
Online ISSN : 1881-2198
ISSN-L : 1881-218X
Review
Aqueous Lubrication with Poly(Ethylene Glycol) Brushes
Nicholas D. Spencer
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JOURNAL FREE ACCESS

2014 Volume 9 Issue 4 Pages 143-153

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Abstract

Hydrophilic polymer brushes constitute a man-made approach to imitating nature’s lubrication mechanisms. A polymer that has been frequently used to explore such systems is poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG). While PEG may not be the ideal solution for water-lubricated tribosystems for a number of technical reasons, this well-characterized polymer has served as an extremely useful model for the development of other polymer-brush-based lubricant approaches. This review covers the history of PEG brushes used as aqueous lubricants, including the large body of work on electrostatically attached PEG brushes, and ends with a discussion of current and future research directions that build upon the knowledge gained over a decade and a half of PEG-brush research in tribology.

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© 2014 by Japanese Society of Tribologists
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