Abstract
The tribological behavior of novel, deagglomerated, and active molybdenum disulfide (MoS2) nanoparticles as additives in paraffin oil is presented. In a novel approach, the MoS2 nanoparticles were activated by their intercalation with organic molecules, particularly triglycerides (canola oil) and lecithin (source of phosphorus). A four-ball tribological test setup was used to measure the wear scar diameter, the coefficient of friction, and the extreme pressure properties of such formulated paraffin oils. The results showed significant influence of this uniquely designed MoS2 nanostructured additive on the coefficient of friction (0.07), the wear scar diameter, and the extreme pressure (315 kg) properties of the paraffin oil. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and energy dispersive x-ray spectroscopy (EDS) were also used for investigating size, the surface morphology, and the elemental composition of the nanoengineered lubricant. The characterization revealed a particle size less than 100 nm and the elemental composition analysis of the wear track showed the presence of Mo, S, and P in the tribofilm, explaining the observed improvements in the tribological properties.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The authors wish to acknowledge a CMII-NSF grant (GOALI Grant # 0115532) for financial support. The authors also thank AAL-University of Arkansas for analytical tests. We also acknowledge Dr. Ivan Petrov and Dr. Jian-guo Wen from CMM, UIUC for HRTEM support and related discussions. Also, we wish to thank Dr. Philip McCluskey and Dr. Atanu Adhvaryu from Caterpillar and Dr. Ali Erdemir from the Argonne National Laboratory for technical discussions.