Analysis of ZDDP content and thermal decomposition in motor oils using NAA and NMR
arXiv:1502.07261 · doi:10.1016/j.phpro.2015.05.055
Abstract
Zinc dialkyldithiophosphates (ZDDPs) are one of the most common anti-wear additives present in commercially-available motor oils. The ZDDP concentrations of motor oils are most commonly determined using inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectroscopy (ICP-AES). As part of an undergraduate research project, we have determined the Zn concentrations of eight commercially-available motor oils and one oil additive using neutron activation analysis (NAA), which has potential for greater accuracy and less sensitivity to matrix effects as compared to ICP-AES. The 31P nuclear magnetic resonance (31P-NMR) spectra were also obtained for several oil additive samples which have been heated to various temperatures in order to study the thermal decomposition of ZDDPs.
Manuscript has been accepted for publication in Physics Procedia as part of the proceedings of the 23rd International Conference on Application of Accelerators in Research and Industry (CAARI 2014)