Zinc dithiophosphate (DTP) molecules have long been used as wear
inhibitor oil additives for automotive
engines. In order to obtain an atomistic understanding of the
mechanism by which these molecules inhibit
wear, we examined the geometries, energetics, and vibrations of an
oxidized iron surface [(001) surface of
α-Fe2O3] using the MSX force field (FF)
based on ab initio quantum chemistry (QC) calculations.
The DTP
molecules studied include (RO)2PS2 with R =
methyl, isobutyl, isopropyl, and phenyl. The
α-Fe2O3 surface
is described using the generalized valence bond (GVB) model of bonding.
The geometries, binding energies,
and vibrational frequencies from ab initio calculations on
simple clusters are used with the biased Hessian
method to develop the MSX FF suitable for describing the binding of DTP
molecules to the surfaces. We
find that the cohesive energies for the self-assembled monolayers (SAM)
of the DTP molecules on the Fe2O3
surface correlate with the antiwear performance observed in
experimental engine tests. This suggests that
the search for more effective and environmentally benign wear
inhibitors can use the cohesive energies for
SAM formation as a criterion in selecting and prioritizing compounds
for experimental testing.