Resolving the Chemical Variation of Phosphates in Thin ZDDP Tribofilms by X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy Using Synchrotron Radiation: Evidence for Ultraphosphates and Organic Phosphates

X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy using a synchrotron source (SR-XPS) with variable photon energy has been used to non-destructively elucidate the variations in surface chemistry from ~5 nm to ~10 nm into the tribofilm derived from zinc dialkyldithiophosphate (ZDDP) in a mineral oil under boundary lubrication conditions. The elemental ratio of P/Zn and “bridging” oxygen (BO)/“non-bridging” oxygen (NBO) decrease as a function of distance from the top surface of the film, suggesting a decrease of the polyphosphate chain-length into the film, as shown in many recent XPS and XANES studies. More importantly, the measured P/Zn ratio of ~3, the BO/NBO ratios of >0.5, the P 2p spectra, and the absence of other balancing cations such as iron, show the first strong evidence for an ultrapolyphosphate (such as ZnP₄O₁₁), organophosphates along with other Zn polyphosphates. The existence of ultraphosphates and/or organophosphates in this film appears to be the long-awaited answer to the apparent deficiency of cations in these antiwear films.