Aerospace applications require fluids which can serve under oxidizing conditions at extremes of temperature. The materials available at present cannot fulfill all these requirements. The objective of this program is to synthesize wide temperature range fluids stable in air, in the presence of metals, at greater than 300 C. The approach visualized consists of controlled degradation of commercially available unbranched perfluoroalkylethers to remove weak linkages, followed by end-capping of the resultant acid fluorides with monophosphastriazine rings. Viscosity temperature profiles, thermal and thermal oxidative stability, and the influence of metal alloys on degradation are determined for the obtained fluids. The study should lead to the development of lubricating fluids of unique properties amenable to use either alone or as co-formulators both with branched and unbranched perfluoroalkylethers.
