Extra low friction coefficient caused by the formation of a solid-like layer: A new lubrication mechanism found through molecular simulation of the lubrication of MoS2 nanoslits

JH Li and YD Zhu and YM Zhang and QW Gao and W Zhu and XH Lu and YJ Shi, CHINESE JOURNAL OF CHEMICAL ENGINEERING, 26, 2412-2419 (2018).

DOI: 10.1016/j.cjche.2018.02.027

Monolayer molybdenum disulfide (MoS2) is a novel two-dimensional material that exhibits potential application in lubrication technology. In this work, molecular dynamics was used to investigate the lubrication behaviour of different polar fluid molecules (i.e., water, methanol and decane) confined in monolayer MoS2 nanoslits. The pore width effect (i.e., 1.2, 1.6 and 2.0 nm) was also evaluated. Results revealed that decane molecules exhibited good lubricating performance compared to the other two kinds of molecules. The friction coefficient followed the order of decane < methanol < water, and decreased evidently as the slit width increased, except for decane. Analysis of the spatial distribution and mobility of different confined fluid molecules showed that a solid- like layer was formed near the slit wall. This phenomenon led to the extra low friction coefficient of confined decane molecules. (C) 2018 The Chemical Industry and Engineering Society of China, and Chemical Industry Press. All rights reserved.

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