Fluid lubricants are used in almost every field of human technological activity and their purpose is multi-fold: they reduce frictional resistance, protect the engine against wear between contacting surfaces, remove wear debris, reduce heating and contribute to cooling, improve fuel economy, improve emissions. Advanced nano-materials recently developed, such as inorganic fullerene materials (IFs) and others, have shown some initial promise for their contribution to reducing friction and enhancing protection against wear. The transfer of promising nanotechnology research results into new nanolubricants still represents a bottleneck. If inorganic fullerenes can be manufactured at commercial-scale, incorporated in a stable fashion into full formulations, and their performance benefits can be sustained under those circumstances, they offer the prospect for some performance breakthroughs not seen since the development of the now ubiquitous anti-wear additives, Zinc Dialkyl Dithiophosphates (ZDDP’s), around 70 years ago.
Project at a Glance:The AddNano project is partially funded by European Commission within the 7th Framework Programme (NMP-2008-1.2.1) and its overall objective is to overcome the technological barriers involved in the development of large scale market introduction of a new generation of lubricants incorporating inorganic fullerenes and other nano- materials.
The synthesis of transition metal dichalcogenides MX2 (with M=W, Mo; X=S, Se) with fullerene-like structures and nanotubes was first demonstrated by Professor Tenne of the Weizmann Institute, along with his co-workers [1-4] . Since the initial work, many synthetic routes have been developed [5-12] to obtain this kind of nanostructured materials. Some of the most important strategies involve gas-solid or gas-gas reaction between MO3 and H2S in reducing atmosphere at high temperature. The synthesis and pilot-plant scale-up of these materials has opened a challenging new field in solid state physics, chemistry and materials science with a wide range of possible applications. In particular, MoS2 and WS2 have already been studied for excellent properties in the field of solid lubricants. An EU FP6 project “FOREMOST”, studied the potential for the production of IF-based coatings for machine parts, and their use in dry lubrication applications. The basis of the present project is radically different in that the nano-materials are aimed to be incorporated into fluid formulations, for potential application in crankcase transmission oils, plus additionally in industrial greases. Project ObjectivesThe AddNano Project will develop, scale-up and prove pilot lines to produce optimised nano-materials which may then be straightforwardly dispersed into oils. Advanced dispersing and stabilising technologies will be developed in this project, and also extended into practical “full-formulation” technology according to the end-user applications. Other objectives are:
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