Exploration of PTFE sub-micron particles for enhancing the performance of commercial oils

Abstract

This paper reports on the tribo-performance enhancement of commercial gear oil and engine oil by inclusion of PTFE particles of submicron (230 nm) size (SMPs). It also reports on the investigations on various concentrations of SMPs to find the optimum doses. Results revealed that optimum dosage of 6 and 3 wt.% SMPs led to a significant improvement in EP property by 175% and 58% respectively in Engine oil and Gear oil. The EP performance of PTFE added engine oil surpassed that of PTFE added-gear oil confirming that it can be used as multipurpose oil. Importantly anti-wear and anti-friction properties also showed improvement confirming no antagonistic influence of PTFE particles on selected commercial oils. Synergistic action between SMPs and other additives led to formation of stable tribo-film as a result of chemical interaction of mating surfaces. The mechanisms involved were analyzed by investigating worn surfaces using SEM-EDX, x ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) techniques. The stability of suspension in case of engine oils was up to 2 months and for gear oil it did not show any deterioration in the observed period of 4 months.