Nanoparticulate based lubricants

Abstract

A method of making a nanoparticulate based lubricant is disclosed. The method includes providing solid lubricant material with particles having a size less than or equal to about 500 nanometers, and treating the particles to create composite nanoparticles. The composite nanoparticles includes the solid lubricant material and at least a second material.

Description

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS[0001]This application is based upon and claims the benefit of priority from U.S. Provisional Application No. 60 / 880,025 to Malshe et al. filed on Jan. 12, 2007, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.TECHNICAL FIELD[0002]The present disclosure relates generally to lubricants and, more particularly, to lubricants containing nanoparticles of a solid lubricant.BACKGROUND[0003]Lubricants are introduced between contacting (sliding or rolling) surfaces of dynamic systems to reduce the friction and wear therebetween. Lubrication occurs when these moving surfaces are separated by a lubricant film and an applied load is carried by the lubricant. In general, four regimes of lubrication are broadly defined based upon the mechanism by which the lubricant operates to reduce friction between the moving parts. These four regimes are: hydrodynamic lubrication, mixed lubrication, boundary lubrication, and enhanced pressure lubricatio...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

[0008]In one aspect, the present disclosure is directed toward a method of making a nanoparticulate based lubricant. The method includes providing solid lubricant material with particles having a size less or equal to about 500 nanometers, and treating the particles to create composite nanoparticles. The composite nanoparticles include the solid lubricant material and at least a second material.

[0009]In another aspect, the present disclosure is directed toward a nanoparticle for lubricant applications. The nanoparticle includes a core made substantially of a first material and having a size less

Problems solved by technology

Although the technique of the '020 patent may be capable of producing nanoparticles below 200 nanometers, this technique may have some limitations.

Additionally, because the '020 patent relies on chemical synthesis to produce the IF nanoparticles, the quantity of the nanoparticles that may be practically produced using this technique, may be limited.

Scaling the chemical synthesis process to produce a sufficient quantity of nanoparticles for bulk commercial applications, may increase the cost of such lubricants making them unviable for common applications.

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