NOVEL FULLERENE-LIKE INORGANIC NANOPARTICLES OF TUNGSTEN DISULFIDE (IF WS_2) AS A SUPERIOR LUBRICANT

摘要

The use of nano-sized materials for formulation of advanced lubricants has been a focus of many academic and industrial research labs over the past 10 years. They exhibit outstanding properties not only in terms of wear and lubricity (COF-0.02-0.03) but also provide significant benefits in terms of energy savings and efficiency during operations. Of the several nanostructured additives developed for lubrication inorganic fullerene-like tungsten disulfide (IF-WS_2) formulated lubricants has exhibited superior tribological characteristics and also excellent resistance to pressure, temperature and impact. The closed-caged nanostructures of tungsten disulfide were first observed in 1992 by Professor Tenne laboratory at the Weizmann Institute of Science, Israel when an electron beam of the transmission electron microscope (TEM) was irradiated on a thin film of amorphous tungsten oxide. These non-carbon closed-cage nanoparticles structurally resembled to that of carbon fullerenes and was named as Inorganic fullerene-like tungsten disulfide (IF-WS2).