The synthesis of MoS2 particles with different morphologies for tribological applications

Three types of molybdenum disulfide (MoS2) particles with the morphologies of flower-like, microspheres and nanosheets, were successfully fabricated by solvo/hydrothermal route. The tribological behaviors of the synthesized MoS2 particles as lubricating additives of the liquid paraffin were investigated using a ball-on-disk tribotester. The results showed that all the synthetic MoS2 particles could improve the lubricating property of the liquid paraffin. In the case of heavy load, nanosheets MoS2 presented more excellent friction and wear reduction behaviors as compared with the other two types of MoS2 particles. The reason of the optimal lubricating performance of nanosheets MoS2 was discussed based on their exfoliation into ultrathin nanosheets and nano fragments during the friction tests.