Ionic Liquid Precursor Films

Cartoon of precursor film formation

Ionic liquid precursor film

Ionic liquids are salts in liquid state at room temperature. Their physical and chemical properties are favourable for high-end lubrication applications. However, this potential has yet to be realised because many ionic liquids form poor lubricating layers.

We are developing a mathematical model for the development of ionic liquid lubricating films. Taking the continuum limit of a system of interacting particles, we obtain a fourth-order PDE for phase separation in ionic liquids. We are using the model to predict the liquid patterns, and compare mathematics results with experiments.

Mathematics Clinic

I supervise undergraduate teams in research projects collaborating with industry. Projects I have supervised include:


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