Acknowledgments .................................................................................................. 376 References .............................................................................................................. 376

Dialkyl carbonates have been used in lubricant applications since the early 1940s. Dialkyl carbonates can be obtained by several synthesis routes. A wide variety of different dialkyl carbonates can be prepared to provide materials with required viscosity or degree of water solubility or biodegradability. Dialkyl carbonates posses properties and performance features desirable in synthetic lubricants. Since dialkyl carbonates are polar molecules, they can serve as friction modiers in lubricants similar to esters.