Effect of particle size and composition of powdered nanocrystalline molybdenum disulfide on its tribological behavior

The tribological behavior of two types of nanocrystalline molybdenum disulfide produced from natural molybdenum disulfide by monolayer dispersion in the presence of water (nano-MoS2(H2O)) and acetonitrile (nano-MoS2(CH3CN)) is studied. The study of the friction of these materials against polished and ground steels, as well as XPS examinations, show the advantage of the more thermally stable nano-MoS2(CH3CN), which is primarily due to the origin of low-molecular products adsorbed on the surfaces of nanoparticles.