Synthesis and characterization of Pb–Bi bimetal nanoparticles by solution dispersion

In this paper, we report a new solution synthetic route to prepare Pb–Bi bimetal nanoparticles from bulk ingot that is different from conventional solution methods. The Pb–Bi nanoparticles were prepared by dispersing directly melt Pb–Bi ingot in a suitable solvent and characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and other techniques. Transmission electron microscopy shows that the Pb–Bi nanoparticles appear a spherical shape with an average diameter of 50 nm. X-ray diffraction studies show that the Pb–Bi nanoparticles contain crystalline Pb7Bi3, Bi and a little amount of PbO. Tribological results show that Pb–Bi nanoparticles as a lubricating additive show good antiwear properties. In addition, the formation mechanism of the Pb–Bi nanoparticles was also discussed.