Modifying the lubricating and tribological properties via introducing the oleic acid in CuS nanomaterials for vehicle

Materials made from self-lubricating inorganic and organic composites have gained great attention due to advantages of the rust-resistance, light weight, low cost, and high compatibility. As a result, they have extensive applications in the friction and lubrication fields, typically for vehicle. With the help of the water bath and hydrothermal method, we have prepared the CuS nanomaterials with and without oleic acid modification. Various techniques, such as X-ray diffraction (XRD) spectra, transmission electron microscope (TEM), energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS) and vertical universal friction as well as wear testing, have been employed to analyze the structure information and characterize the related tribological properties of our CuS nanomaterials. Results show that the morphologies of the CuS nanomaterials are nanorods. Increasing the surface area and the concentration of CuS nanorod additives can significantly reduce the friction coefficient and wear rate of pins in both unmodified and oleic acid-modified CuS nanomaterials. More than that, we find that when compared to those without oleic acid modification, the oleic acid modification enable the CuS nanomaterials to exhibit higher anti-wear properties. The EDS analysis shows that there is still a uniform tribo-film in the surface of oleic acid-modified CuS nanomaterials, implying the prominent tribological performances of CuS nanorods additives. Our results indicate that the Oleic acid-modified CuS nanorods can be served as a new lubricating and tribological material for vehicle.