A facile method to enhance the tribological performances of MoSe2 nanoparticles as oil additives

MoSe2 nanoparticles were successfully synthesized by hydrothermal method and treated with a novel dispersion method, ultrasonic dispersion in water. The tribological behaviors and wear mechanisms of MoSe2 nanoparticles as oil additives were investigated using a reciprocating ball-on-disk tribo-meter. The results showed that the average friction coefficient and wear rate decreased by 43% and 87% respectively with the addition of the treated MoSe2 nanoparticles compared with white oil. The lubrication mechanism was investigated and can be interpreted as that the MoSe2 had smaller particle size after being ultrasonically dispersed in water, which were beneficial to the formation of the tribo-film.