Preparation and tribological behaviors of magnesium silicate hydroxide-MoS2 nanoparticles as lubricant additive

Abstract

The tribological properties of lubricating oil during service life largely depend on the properties of lubricant additives. Herein, we present a hydrothermal synthesis of magnesium silicate hydroxide (MSH)-MoS 2 nanocomposite and evaluate its tribological performances and repairing properties on worn surfaces as lubricant additive in poly-alpha-olefin (PAO). The microstructure of MSH-MoS 2 powders is MSH nanotubes surrounded by layered MoS 2 . The tribological test results show that the anti-friction performance and wear resistance of the friction pair were improved by 27.7% and 37.4%, respectively, after adding 1.0 wt% MSH-MoS 2 into PAO. More importantly, the worn volume of the friction disk can be repaired by 33.2% after sliding 5 h under the lubrication of PAO with MSH-MoS 2 . The superior tribological performance should be attributed to the formation of robust tribofilm with low shear strength, high hardness, strong resistance to plastic deformation, and high bonding strength on the sliding surface. • Rod-shaped magnesium silicate hydroxide-MoS 2 nanocomposites were synthesized. • The nanocomposites as additives show excellent anti-friction and anti-wear properties. • The nanocomposites show outstanding repairing properties on the worn surface. • A robust tribofilm with low shear strength and excellent mechanical properties was formed.