Preparation and tribological properties of calcium perrhenate as high-performance lubricating additive toward a broad temperature range

Abstract

In this article, nano-sized calcium perrhenate was prepared using the microemulsion reaction method. By the aid of surfactant, the calcium perrhenate was suspended in pentaerythritol ester base oil to serve as a lubricating additive. The tribological performances of the oil containing calcium perrhenate at elevated temperatures were investigated by four-ball tests and ball-on-disk reciprocating sliding tests. The underlying lubricating mechanism of the calcium perrhenate additive was explored using X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, differential scanning calorimetry/thermogravimetry, Raman spectroscopy, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. The four-ball test results indicated that the oil containing calcium perrhenate featured lower friction coefficients, smaller wear scar diameters, and lower temperature rising performance than the base oil under an applied load of 392N. The optimum lubricating property was obtained when the additive was at a concentration of 0.05wt%. The tribological performance in a wide temperature range results showed that the friction coefficients of the oil containing calcium perrhenate were slightly lower than those of the base oil at a relatively low temperature range, and decreased as the temperature increased within a high range. The improved tribological performances owed to the formation of a protective layer, which consisted of the shear-susceptible calcium perrhenate additive as well as some native metal oxides that enhanced the layer carrying capacity during rubbing after chemical degradation of base oil. This protective layer acted as a barrier between the rubbing surfaces, preventing them from directly contacting each other at elevated temperatures.