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The aim of this study is to combine a diamond anvil cell with in-situ Raman spectroscopy to simulate and analyze the effect of pure pressure on the length of phosphate chains in an antiwear film formed in a tribological contact. In-situ Raman spectra of Zn2P2O7 glass, α-Zn3(PO4)2, and γ-Zn2P2O7 crystals submitted to high hydrostatic pressure up to 20 GPa were recorded. Evolution of Raman spectra as a function of pressure was studied in the characteristic high frequency range of PO4 tetrahedra molecular resonance (650-1300 cm-1). When exposed to high pressure, the structure of the sample becomes less ordered. Phase transitions in α-Zn3(PO4)2 structure are observed during compression from ambient pressure to 3 GPa. The length of the phosphate chains is conserved up to 20 GPa when samples are subjected to hydrostatic pressure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nanoparticles are potential additives for the improvement of lubricant properties, because of the structural modifications they undergo under high pressures in mechanical contacts. The behavior of inorganic fullerene-like WS2 nanoparticles (IF-WS2) under high isotropic pressures of up to 20 GPa generated in a diamond anvil cell was studied and compared to the response of the lamellar 2H phase of WS2. The same materials were then subjected to static uniaxial pressures in a Hertzian contact in the GPa range. The evolution of the particles as a function of pressure was studied by in situ Raman spectroscopy and transmission electron microscopy at the end of the test. Data analysis shows that IF-WS2 particles resist high hydrostatic pressures well, but they are totally exfoliated by uniaxial compression in a Hertzian contact under low pressure. These results explain the excellent tribological properties at ambient temperature of IF-WS2 nanolubricant that have previously been attributed to the nested nanospheres during the friction process but whose origin had not been clearly identified. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nanoparticles such as inorganic fullerenes of metal dichalcogenides or carbon nanotubes have been recently used as lubricant additives and they present excellent tribological properties. Raman spectroscopy is a useful technique to follow modification of these two structures. We developed an original tribometer able to perform in situ Raman analyses during sliding steel on a sapphire flat. These analyses gave unique information on real-time structural changes of nanoparticles inside the contact area: inorganic fullerenes are tribologically active by a progressive exfoliation process and carbon nanotubes is changed to amorphous carbon. Lubrication mechanism of these particles are explained in the light of analytical results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ultrafine cobalt particles have been reproducibly synthesized by decomposition of an organometallic precursor in the presence of a stabilizing polymer. The size of the stable monodisperse colloids thus obtained is seen to strongly depend on the nature of the polymer: around 4.2 nm diameter in polyphenylenoxide (PPO) and around 1.4 nm diameter in polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP). Investigations by wide angle x-ray scattering (WAXS) and high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM) give evidence for a size dependence of the structural organization, and hence for a close relationship between structure and synthesis conditions. Co/PPO particles exhibit a hexagonal compact structure with the metal-metal bond length of the bulk material while Co/PVP ones display an original structure. We show that the unusual features of the experimental data in Co/PVP clearly point to a nonperiodic polytetrahedral structure. Successful simulations of the HRTEM and WAXS results have been obtained using models built on the basis of a polytetrahedral arrangement. © 2000 American Institute of Physics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]