Nano-Diamond Lubricants Are Forever
Well, not really forever, but in a new lubricant created by the Argonne National Laboratory are for as close as you can get. The scientists mixed nano-diamonds with molybdenum disulfide and the result is an extremely durable solid lubricant that is easy to make, has low friction and can last for extremely long.
Tamiya switch lubricant
By Shingo.a CC BY-SA 4.0], from Wikimedia Commons
Solid lubricants are the things among engineers nowadays. That is because compared to their liquid cousins that bring many advantages. They aren’t chemically active like oils, they don’t leak and dust doesn’t attach easily to them. Another big advantage is the fact that they don’t dissolve in high temperatures and some can even work in the icy-cold of space.
Currently, the most common solid lubricants include graphite powder or paste made from carbon structures. These lubricants are used in things like locks, door hinges or even on bike chains. But thanks to the industriousness of scientists we are discovering new, exotic lubricants. Just a few years ago scientists found that if they mix nano-diamonds with graphene they will get a super lubricant with almost zero friction. Now they have gone a step further and replaced graphene with a similar 2D material - molybdenum disulfide – that itself is a popular lubricant, for example in space technologies as it works well in a vacuum.
The scientists were surprised to find that if they mix molybdenum disulfide with nano-diamonds, the nano-diamonds will spontaneously break apart and create carbon structures that look like onions. In the end, a new solid super durable lubricant is created. It has 10 times less friction compared to Teflon and is capable of withstanding high pressures withing wearing out quickly. And while molybdenum disulfide is slightly more expensive than graphene is, the whole lubricant can be cheaper because you need very little of it to get the desired effect.
Sources:
- https://www.anl.gov/articles/nanodiamonds-are-forever
- https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-018-03549-6
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