179

Tribology Letters, Vol. 17, No. 2, August 2004 (
2004)

The eect of WS2 nanoparticles on friction reduction

in various lubrication regimes
R. Greenberga, G. Halperina, I. Etsiona,* and R. Tenneb
b

a
Department of Mechanical Engineering, Technion, Haifa 32000, Israel
Department of Materials and Interfaces, Weizmann Institute, Rehovot 76100, Israel

Received 21 July 2003; accepted 30 November 2003

A study of the tribological behavior of nested inorganic fullerene-like (IF) nanoparticles of WS2, as a potential additive to
base oils is presented. Friction measurement results obtained from three dierent test rigs over a wide range of normal loads
and sliding velocities are shown. Stribeck curves are used to reveal the lubrication regimes where the IF are most eective. It is
found that the addition of IF-WS2 nanoparticles to the base oils results in up to 50% reduction in friction coecient in the
mixed lubrication regime. The mechanism of improved friction and wear behavior with the IF additive is discussed.
KEY WORDS: nanoparticles, friction, lubrication, oil additives, solid lubricants

1. Introduction
Solid lubricants, such as metal dichalcogenide MoS2
or graphite, have been extensively studied and used for
a long time as additives in lubricating oils to reduce
friction and wear of rubbing pairs [1]. The role of
MoS2 powder as a solid lubricant has been discussed
in great detail in Ref. [2]. Fewer studies have been
focused on other metal dichalcogenides such as WS2,
which can also display good lubricating properties [3].
Metal dichalcogenides of the form MX2 (M W, Mo;
X S, Se) have a characteristic anisotropic layered
structure. Strong covalent forces bind M and X atoms
within a lamella, whereas adjacent lamellae interact
through relatively weak van der Waals forces. The unit
cell has a hexagonal symmetry and includes two adjacent lamellae (2H arrangement). This graphite-like
structure is considered to be responsible for the lubricating properties of these materials, because the weak
inter-lamellar bonding facilitates the shear when the
direction of sliding is parallel to the planes of the
material [15].
From the studies of solid lubricants as additives to
lubricating oils, it was concluded that the eectiveness
of the additives was very much dependant on the particle size [6]. Thereby interest in nanoparticles has grown
rapidly during the past decade. The nanometric dimensions of such particles give them unique characteristics,
which cannot be obtained in conventional bulk materials. In the past few years, nested spherical supramole* To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: etsion
@tx.technion.ac.il

cules of metal dichalcogenide have been synthesized by

reaction of metal oxide nanoparticles with H2S at elevated temperatures [79]. Because of their nested fullerene-like structure, these species are known as
inorganic fullerene-like (IF) nanoparticles. The IF are
multi-walled (about 15 layers) hollow nanoparticles,
seamless, quasi-spherical, highly elastic and chemically
stable [10]. All these features led to the conclusion that
the application of the IF in the eld of tribology may
be suitable [9]. Furthermore, the unique form of the IF
led to the assumption that these nanoparticles may act
as tiny ball bearings in a sliding contact and facilitate
relative movement between two contacting surfaces,
thereby leading to lower friction and wear.
Because the subject is relatively new, only a few
works have been published so far on the IF as an
additive to oils. An investigation of the tribological
properties of 2H-WS2 and IF-WS2 under severe operating conditions of high loads and sliding velocities is
described in Refs. [11,12] where it was found that
nested nanoparticles outperformed platelet particles as
a lubricant material. The authors suggested that the
spherical shape of the IF-WS2 (which would allow
them to act as microscopic ball bearings) and the
absence of dangling bonds (increasing their chemical
inertness) could be the reasons for their ndings. On
the other hand, in papers [1315] IF-WS2 nanoparticles, conned between two mica surfaces, were studied
under ultra-low loads and sliding velocities. It was
found that friction-induced delamination and material
transfer of the IF onto the mica surfaces play a major
role in this case. Such delamination of IF-WS2 was
1023-8883/04/08000179/0
2004 Plenum Publishing Corporation

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R. Greenberg et al./The eect of WS2 nanoparticles on friction reduction

analyzed theoretically [16] using a scaling approach

based on elasticity theory for shells and pairwise
summation of van der Waals interactions. It was
shown that van der Waals interactions cause strong
adhesion to the substrate, which favors the release of
delaminated layers onto the mica surfaces. The deposition of IF-MoS2 thin lms by using a localized highpressure arc discharge is described in [17] where a low
friction coecient as a result of the nanoparticle lms
is attributed to their highly ordered curved structure.
The above literature review reveals that several tribological aspects of IF are still not fully understood
and in fact even contradictory. These include for
example, the range of operating conditions where IF
are most eective, the operating parameters that aect
the performance of IF, and the tribological mechanism
involved in lubrication with the IF.
The goals of the present research, in light of the
uncertainties mentioned above, are to determine the
operating conditions under which the IF are most
eective in reduction of friction and wear and to
understand their operating mechanism when used as
an additive to lubricating oils.

2. Test method and experimental conditions

2.1. Test method
In order to evaluate the eectiveness of IF as an
additive to oil over a wide range of operating conditions in terms of pressures, speeds, viscosities, and different sliding modes, tests were performed on three
dierent test rigs and with three dierent base oils.
Altogether more than 15,000 test data points were collected to get a clear picture by studying the Stribeck
curves that were constructed for the dierent systems.
In a Stribeck curve the friction coecient is related to

a Stribeck number gV=P where g is the dynamic viscosity, V is the sliding velocity, and P is the mean contact pressure at the sliding interface. The general shape
of the Stribeck curve depicting the three main lubrication regimes (boundary, mixed, and hydrodynamic) is
common for every lubricated sliding system, but the
Stribeck numbers at which the transition from a certain regime to another occurs are characteristic for
each individual system.
During this research program, tests were performed
with the investigated additive (IF) and results were
compared with baseline data obtained from testing of
pure base oils. Presenting the results by Stribeck curves
helped identifying the lubrication regime with the most
perceivable eect of IF on reduction of friction. Determining such a lubrication regime could also assist in
understanding the lubrication mechanism of IF.

2.2. Test devices and procedures

Tests were performed on three dierent test rigs
covering a wide range of operating conditions, and
three dierent contact geometries and sliding modes.
In addition each test rig can simulate the conditions of
boundary, mixed and hydrodynamic lubrication
regimes. The most important test conditions for the
three test rigs are listed in table 1. As can be seen from
this table most of the tests were performed with a aton-at tribotester that was specially designed and built
for this purpose. The contact of two at surfaces, an
upper quasi-static tribo-element in the form of a at
circular disk and a lower tribo-element in the form of
a at plate performing a linear motion characterize the
new test device. A schematic diagram of the apparatus
is illustrated in gure 1. A weight (1) drives the lower
tribo-element plate (2), which is mounted in a selfaligning frame on a linear bearing (3). The sliding

Table 1
Test conditions for the three test rigs.
Test rig concept

Flat-on-at tester

Roller-on-rib tester

Ball-on-at tester

Velocity (mm/s)

0.66

801410

2 (avg.), amplitude = 148 lm

Mean pressure (MPa)

Dimension of quasi-static
tribo-element (mm)
Material/hardness
Dimension of mobile tribo-element (mm)
Material/hardness
Surface nish Ra (lm)
Oils
Test repeatability (%)
Number of experiments (#)

3e-40.11
d = 15, height = 3
disc
AISI 2510/65 HRC
90 16 5 plate
AISI 2510/65 HRC
0.05, 0.1
SN 90, SN 150, bright stock
15

15,000

2.2514.80
Width = 1 mm, length=10
rib
Brass/21 HRC
d = 38, width = 10 roller
Steel/51 HRC
0.22
SN 90, SN 150
5

300

420840
d=5
ball
Bearing steel/64 HRC
90 16 5 Plate
AISI 2510/65 HRC
0.06
SN 90, SN 150
5

400

R. Greenberg et al./The eect of WS2 nanoparticles on friction reduction

Figure 1. Schematic

diagram of the
apparatus.

at-on-at

experimental

velocity is adjusted by controlling the rotational speed

of an electric motor (4) that provides resistance to the
weight. Such an arrangement prevents unwanted vibrations of the driving system. The upper tribo-element
disk (5) is mounted in another self-aligning frame and
is loaded against the plate by means of free weights
placed on the loading platform (6). The joint axes of
the two self-aligning frames are coplanar with the friction plane of the two tribo-elements. Hence, the friction force acting in this plane does not produce any
moments about the joint axes, thereby assuring that
full contact is always maintained between the mating
surfaces. All the joints are specially designed to eliminate unwanted clearances. A force transducer (7) measures the tangential (friction) force between the disk
and plate specimens. This force transducer is mounted
on a hinged arm, which allows lifting and lowering of
the upper tribo-element. The loading arm is balanced
by a counterweight (8).
The design of the test rig allows convenient replacement of disks and plates for the various tests. All disk
and plate specimens were made of AISI 2510 steel
(W0.6%,
V0.1%,
Cr0.6%,
Mn1.1%,
C0.95%) hardened to 65 3 HRC to prevent
potential embedding of the IF additive in the specimens. All the disk specimens were lapped to Ra 0.02
lm while one half of the plate specimens were lapped
to Ra 0.1 lm and the other half to Ra 0.05 lm.
Hence, the equivalent roughness
average,
determined

q
by (see e.g., Ref. [18]) Ra R2a1 R2a2 where Ra1 and
Ra2 are the roughness average values of the two triboelements, respectively was either 102 or 54 nm. The
specimens were demagnetized before the beginning of
the experiments and were stored in polyethylene packs
after dipping in SN 90 oil to prevent corrosion. Both

181

tribo-elements were cleaned immediately prior to testing with acetone in an ultrasonic bath.
Prior to each test a constant number of lubricant
drops, having a mass of 6 0.5 mg each, was placed
on the plate surface, using a regular 5 mL syringe, to
form a thin lubricating lm of uniform thickness. The
electric motor was turned on to start the sliding
motion and sampling of the friction measurements
started as soon as steady state was reached. By conducting the tests over a range of contact pressures
between 3 10)4 and 0.116 MPa and a range of sliding speeds between 0.6 and 6 mm/s, the Stribeck curve
of the system was constructed, showing the various
lubrication regimes.
The second device is a slightly modied existing
roller-on-block tester, previously described in [19],
where a rotating roller is loaded against a rib to simulate conformal rotational sliding like in journal bearings for example. The unique feature of this test rig is
in keeping the area of contact constant despite the
evolving wear of the tribo-elements. The variation of
the friction force, electrical contact resistance, temperature of the rib, and wear as functions of time were registered continuously during the test duration. The
contact pressures ranged from 2.25 to 14.80 MPa, and
the sliding speeds ranged from 0.08 to 1.41 m/s. The
rib was made of brass of hardness 21 3 HRC to
provide relatively high wear rates and facilitate wear
measurements in reasonably short test times. Steady
friction conditions were maintained by using the aforementioned syringe to regularly place lubricant drops
on the rotating roller at a rate of 1 drop every 10 s.
A third test rig that was used to investigate the IF
under fretting conditions is based on a ball-on-at
contact scheme and is described in more details in
Ref. [20]. Fretting occurs in many mechanical systems
when two contacting surfaces, nominally at rest with
respect to each other, are subjected to deformations
and/or vibrations as a result of the machine work. The
measuring system of this device allows on-line measurements of parameters such as friction force, relative
displacement, contact electrical resistance, frequency
and number of fretting cycles. The mean Hertzian contact pressures in this test were varied in the range of
420 to 840 MPa, the mean sliding speed was 2 mm/s
and the sliding amplitude was 148 lm. One drop of
lubricant was placed, by using the syringe, between the
specimens in the beginning of each test. The drop created a meniscus that kept the ball-on-at contact zone
lubricated throughout the duration of each test.
Prior to the main research program, some preliminary testing was performed on all test rigs to determine
the required test periods and the repeatability of the
three testing devices. It should be noticed that separate
pairs of tribo-element specimens were used for the
experiments with and without the IF to prevent any possible eect of IF traces on the tests with pure base oils.

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R. Greenberg et al./The eect of WS2 nanoparticles on friction reduction

Table 2
Oil properties

Oil

m (40 C) (cS)

m (100 C) (cS)

q (15 C) (kg/m3)

Viscosity index

17
32
450

3.75
5.3
32

860
860
900

97
98
92

SN 90
SN 150
Bright stock

2.3. Lubricants and additives

The three tested lubricants were base mineral oils
designated as SN 90, SN 150 and bright stock. Some
data of these oils is listed in table 2. Using base oils
eliminates the eect of commercial additive packages
which would mask the pure eect of the IF additive
on the friction and wear. The selected base oils provide
a wide range of viscosities, where the viscosity of the
thinnest oil, SN 90, still provides negligible IF sedimentation during the duration of the longest test that
was up to 2 h.
The particles size of IF-WS2 ranges from 50 to
350 nm, the average size being 200 nm. From practical
considerations a concentration of 5 wt.% of IF in the
oil was selected for the tests although preliminary aton-at tests showed that increasing the concentration
increases the positive eect of IF on friction reduction
up to saturation at about 10 wt.%. Shaking the oil
and IF additive mixture in an ultrasonic bath for
15 min produced uniformly mixed lubricant. A few
experiments were also conducted with conventional
solid lubricants such as 2H-MoS2 and 2H-WS2, with
particle sizes below 2 lm. This was done in order to
get some feeling of the performance of IF in comparison with conventional additives.
The temperature and relative humidity in the laboratory were 21 1 C and 47 3%, respectively.

3. Results and discussion

Figure 2. Stribeck curves from the at-on-at test with SN 90

lubricant.

Figure 3. Stribeck curves from the at-on-at test with SN 150

lubricant.

3.1. Flat-on-Flat test

By far the largest number of tests was performed
with the at-on-at scheme. Results from these experiments are shown in gures 24 as Stribeck curves that
were obtained by best ts of the numerous experimental points for easy reading of the graphs. Results for
pure base oil SN 90 and for SN 90 + 5% IF-WS2 are
shown in gure 2 for the two equivalent roughness
average values Ra 102 and 54 nm.
From the shape of the Stribeck curves it is easy to
identify the mixed and the hydrodynamic lubrication
regimes. In the former the friction coecient decreases
while in the latter it increases with the increase of the
Stribeck number. The transition point for the
Ra 102 nm case is at a Stribeck number of approximately 10)8 m and is higher than for the smoother

Figure 4. Stribeck curves from the at-on-at test with bright stock
lubricant.

R. Greenberg et al./The eect of WS2 nanoparticles on friction reduction

Ra = 54 nm case. A positive eect of the IF in the

form of lower friction coecient is clearly observed in
the mixed lubrication regime. This eect is gradually
vanishing in the hydrodynamic regime as this regime
becomes more and more pronounced. However, with
the smoother surfaces of Ra 54 nm the eect does
not vanish completely. Optical microscope photographs taken from the surfaces of the tribo-elements
after the experiments conrmed the existence of two
lubrication regimes. Clearly oriented wear grooves
characterized the tribo-elements after experiments in
the mixed lubrication regime and randomly crossed
shallow grooves, resulting from the initial polishing
and lapping of the specimens, were seen after tests in a
hydrodynamic lubrication regime.
As can be seen in gure 2, the IF-WS2 additive
reduces the coecient of friction by about 25% compared to the pure base oil for both the Ra 102 nm
and the Ra 54 nm cases in the mixed lubrication
regime. Similar results were obtained with the SN 150
oil (gure 3) and the bright stock oil (gure 4) however, the general level of the friction coecient
decreased with the increase of lubricant viscosity.
Since the IF additive is most eective in the mixed
lubrication regime it can be assumed that the IF particles aect friction mainly when there is a physical
interaction between them and the surfaces of the
tribo-elements. This assumption was conrmed by
estimating the lm thickness in comparison with the
IF particles size. The lm thickness over roughness
average ratio k h=Ra is less than 3 in the mixed
lubrication regime (e.g., [18]). Hence, the maximum
lm thickness in this regime is no more than about
160 nm for the smoother surfaces and about 300 nm
for the rougher surfaces of the at-on-at specimens.
Recalling that the average size of the IF-WS2 particles is 200 nm and their maximum size is 350 nm, it
is clear that physical interaction does take place
between these particles and the two surfaces of the
tribo-elements in the mixed lubrication regime. This
also explains the behavior in the hydrodynamic lubrication regime showing a certain persistence of the
positive eect of the IF in the Ra 54 nm case and
a total vanishing of this eect in the Ra 102 nm
case.
Another interesting observation from the entire aton-at tests is the level of friction coecient values
obtained with the IF in the mixed lubrication regime.
These values range from a minimum of 0.03 in the
thickest bright stock oil (gure 4) to a maximum of
0.2 in the thinnest SN 90 oil (gure 2). Such values are
typical of sliding friction and are denitely much
higher than the values expected in rolling friction.
Hence, contradicting the possibility of the microscopic
ball bearings concept.
The Stribeck curves obtained in a few experiments
conducted with 2H-MoS2 and 2H-WS2 additives were

183

very similar to these for the IF-WS2. Hence, it seems

that under the at-on-at test conditions the various
additives are not signicantly dierent in their friction
reduction capability.

3.2. Roller on Rib test

The sliding velocities and mean contact pressures in
this test were 2 orders of magnitude larger than in the
at-on-at test (see table 1). Implementing the results
from the at-on-at test rig that show similar behavior
for all three lubricants, the experiments on this test rig
were performed with two oils only, the SN 90 and the
SN 150. The Stribeck curves for the pure oil SN 90
and for the SN 90 + 5% IF-WS2 are presented in
gure 5. Here, the boundary lubrication regime is also
observed in addition to the previously discussed two
other main regimes. The approximate transition
between the boundary and mixed lubrication is at a
Stribeck number of about 0.5 10)3 m and that
between the mixed and hydrodynamic lubrication at
about 5 10)3 m. In the mixed lubrication regime the
friction reduction with the IF is up to about 40%. The
eect of the IF becomes negligible in both the boundary and hydrodynamic lubrication regimes. The results
correlate with these of the at-on-at test rig but show
higher magnitude of the positive eect of the IF additive in the mixed-lubrication regime (40% friction
reduction as compared to only 25% in the at-on-at
case). Similar results were obtained with the SN
150 oil.
During tests in the mixed lubrication regime with
the IF additive, a gradual reduction of the friction
coecient was observed as the test proceeded and the
number of newly added drops of lubricant containing
IF increased. An increase of the contact electrical resistance occurred simultaneously. A typical behavior of
the friction coecient and contact electrical resistance
describing this phenomenon is presented in gure 6.
As can be seen, steady state is reached after about

Figure 5. Stribeck curve from the roller-on-rib test with SN 90

lubricant.

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R. Greenberg et al./The eect of WS2 nanoparticles on friction reduction

Figure 6. Evolution of the friction coecient and electrical resistance

during the roller-on-rib test with SN 90 + IF-WS2.

500 s. It is possible that upon entering the contact

zone some IF particles are smeared on top of the rubbing surfaces of the tribo-elements as a result of friction and high contact pressure. Simultaneously, some
of the adhered IF detach from the surfaces as a result
of friction force. This process may continue to a
point of saturation when the amount of adhering IF
particles equals that of detaching particles. The
adhered IF particles may create a transfer lm (see
e.g., [4,21]) on the rubbing surfaces thereby reducing
the friction coecient (see e.g., [5,22,23]) and increasing the electrical resistance since WS2 is a poor electrical conductor [3,4]. Such possible evolution of the
transfer lm to a point of saturation may explain the
smaller friction reduction in the at-on-at test where,
due to the much shorter time of sliding and/or much
lower contact pressures, the saturation point was never
reached.
The transfer lm assumption was examined by XPS
analysis that was performed on some ribs after experiments in the mixed-lubrication regime. Indeed the
results of the XPS analysis, shown in gure 7, reveal

strong W(4f) peaks on the specimens exposed to IF

additive. It is possible that in the boundary lubrication
regime with the higher pressures the transfer lm is
destroyed and hence, the negligible eect of the IF in
this lubrication regime. Note the small peak at 38 eV in
gure 7 indicating the presence of WO3 which results
from the tribochemical processes that take place during
the test and not from the original IF material [24].
Figure 8 shows wear-rate measurements of the rib
in the mixed lubrication regime with and without the
IF additive in the SN 90 oil. In these tests a Bronze
rib (hardness 26 HRC) was used instead of the softer
Brass one and the combination of loads and speeds
was also modied, hence, the dierent range of the
Stribeck numbers compared to that in gure 5. With
the Bronze rib the mixed lubrication regime is
obtained at much lower Stribeck numbers than with
the Brass rib indicating a better tribological pair. As
can be seen from gure 8 the IF additive aects wear
reduction in a similar way it aects reduction of friction. The measured rib temperature in the entire Roller
on Rib tests was less than 60 C; much below the oxidation temperature of the IF that is 320 C.

3.3. Ball on at test

The ball-on-at test allows the investigation of the
eect of IF under fretting conditions with very high
contact pressures that are three orders of magnitude
higher than with the at-on-at test.
An average fretting friction coecient was calculated by (see [20]):
l

TW
L  Fn

where T is the average measured tangential force, W is

the measured overall sliding distance, Fn is the normal
load and L is the nominal sliding distance obtained
from the product of the number of cycles and the

Figure 7. XPS analysis of rib specimens following tests with pure oil
and with oil + IF.

Figure 8. Wear rate of a bronze rib in a roller-on-rib test with SN

90 lubricant.

R. Greenberg et al./The eect of WS2 nanoparticles on friction reduction

Figure 9. Stribeck curve from the ball-on-at test with SN 90

lubricant.

nominal amplitude. Figure 9 presents the results in the

form of Stribeck curves for pure oil SN 90 and SN
90 + 5% IF-WS2. Due to the very high contact pressures in this test, only the boundary and mixed lubrication regimes were obtained, with a transition
between them at a Stribeck number of about 4.5
10)11 m. As can be seen from gure 9 the friction coefcient with the IF additive in the mixed lubrication
regime is 50% smaller than that of the pure base oil.
The eect of the IF additive in the boundary lubrication regime is minor. This behavior correlates well
with the results of the roller-on-rib test shown in gure 5. The somewhat greater eect of the IF in the
ball-on-at test is probably due to the fact that in this
case the entire amount of IF nanoparticles remain in
the contact zone throughout each test duration (see
Section 2.2), thus enabling perhaps a more stable
transfer lm formation.
A noticeable characteristic of the results in gure 9
is the sharp transition with an abrupt change in the
value of the friction coecient at the transition Stribeck number for both the pure oil and, more so, the
oil + IF. Since the frequency of the driving motor
and, hence, the average sliding velocity were kept constant for the entire ball-on-at tests, the only variable

185

in the Stribeck number was the normal load. Therefore, it seems that there exists a critical normal load,
corresponding to the transitional Stribeck number,
above which some abrupt change occurs in the contact
interface. From the results in gure 9 it seems that this
critical load is unrelated to the presence of IF in the
lubricant, although the presence of IF results in a substantial reduction of about 50% in friction below that
critical load.
Figure 10 presents the contact electrical resistance
behavior in the ball-on-at tests. As can be seen, in
the mixed lubrication regime the contact electrical
resistance in the case of the IF presence is much larger
than that for the pure oil. In this regime the electrical
resistance decreases slightly in both cases as the load
increases due to the reduction in the lm thickness. As
soon as the critical load is exceeded the electrical resistance in the SN 90 + IF case drops sharply and starts
behaving exactly like that in the pure oil case. The
results that are shown in gures 9 and 10 support the
assumption of lubrication mechanism by IF transfer
lm. As a result of the friction process, a transfer lm
forms on the surfaces of the tribo-elements and causes
a decrease in the friction coecient and an increase in
the electrical resistance. Above a certain critical load,
corresponding to the transition from the mixed to the
boundary lubrication regime, the transfer lm is
destroyed, thereby increasing the friction coecient
and reducing the electrical resistance.
The results in gures 9 and 10 show that in the
boundary lubrication regime (above the critical load)
there is still some eect of the IF on the reduction of
the friction coecient but there is no dierence in the
electrical resistance of pure oil or oil + IF. Presumably, some isolated islands of WS2 that still remain on
the surfaces after the transfer lm was destroyed help
reduce the friction but do not aect the electrical resistance.
The results shown in gures 9 and 10 are typical;
very similar results were obtained with the SN 150 oil.
The only dierences were a slightly lower friction coefcient levels and a higher transition Stribeck number,
at about 7.5 10)11 m, compared to the SN 90 oil. A
few experiments were conducted with SN 90
oil + 2H-WS2 additive. The results showed lower friction coecients in the mixed lubrication regime compared to the pure SN 90 oil however, the improvement
was only half of that with the IF additive.

4. Conclusion

Figure 10. Electrical resistance in the ball-on-at test with SN 90

lubricant.

The eect of IF-WS2 as a potential additive to base

oils was investigated over a wide range of operating
conditions in terms of contact pressures, sliding velocities, lubricant viscosities and dierent sliding modes.
Tests were performed on three dierent test rigs and

186

R. Greenberg et al./The eect of WS2 nanoparticles on friction reduction

with three dierent base oils. The dierent test rigs

enable studying the IF eect in three distinct lubrication regimes namely, boundary, mixed and hydrodynamic lubrication. Both friction and contact electrical
resistance were measured and some post-test optical
microscopy and XPS analyses were also conducted.
The main ndings of the present investigation are the
following.

The IF were most eective in reducing sliding

friction, by up to 50%, in the mixed lubrication
regime where physical interaction between the IF
particles and the mating surfaces occurs.
The level of friction coecients measured in the
present research with the IF additive corresponds to
sliding rather than to rolling friction. This suggests
that the micro ball bearings concept, assumed in
some previous works, is unsuitable. Instead it was
found more likely that the friction reduction mechanism with the IF is by forming a WS2 transfer lm
on the mating surfaces of the friction pairs.
The transfer lm mechanism and, hence, the associated friction reduction cannot exist in a hydrodynamic lubrication regime due to the lack of physical
interaction between the IF particles and the mating
surfaces. On the other hand in the boundary
lubrication regime under too intensive contact pressures, the transfer lm rate of removal is higher than
its rate of generation and hence, again no benet of
the IF additives can be obtained.
In a few tests with conventional 2H-MoS2 and 2HWS2 a superior behavior of IF was observed. This,
however, is not conclusive and more extensive
comparison tests are needed.

Acknowledgments
This research was supported in parts by the Fund
for the Promotion of Research at Technion and by the
Israel Ministry of Science. The authors gratefully
acknowledge help of Dr. R. Rosentsveig in the synthe-

sis of the IF nanomaterial and Dr. Y. Feldman in the

XPS analysis.

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[1] F.J. Clauss, Solid Lubricants and Self-lubricating Solids
(Academic Press, New York and London, 1972).
[2] I.L. Singer, in: Fundamentals of Friction: Macroscopic and
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[3] S.V. Prasad and J.S. Zabinski, J. Mater. Sci. Lett. 12 (1993)
1413.
[4] G.W. Stachowiak and A.W. Batchelor, Engineering Tribology
(Elsevier, Amsterdam, 1993).
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