Preparation and tribological properties of tungsten disulfide hollow spheres assisted by methyltrioctylammonium chloride

In the current paper, tungsten disulfide hollow spheres modified by methyltrioctylammonium chloride with diameters of about 200 nm have been successfully prepared through a solvothermal process. The products were characterized by X-ray power diffraction, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy, scan electron microscopy and high revolution transmission electron microscopy, respectively. The tribological properties of the as-prepared WS2 in liquid paraffin (LP) were studied and compared with those of commercial colloidal MoS2 (CC-MoS2). The worn surfaces were analyzed by XPS and SEM. Results show that the as-prepared WS2 hollow sphere is a better anti-wear and friction-reducing additive in LP than CC-MoS2.