3D/1D heterostructure of flower-like MoS2 nanospheres anchored on carbon nanotubes for enhanced friction and wear properties as oil additives

3D/1D heterojunction of flower-like MoS2 nanospheres anchored on uniform carbon nanotubes (CNTs) was fabricated through a facile hybridization approach in the presence of modified CNTs, and its crystal phase, chemical composition and surface morphology were systematically characterized by XRD, FT-IR spectra, Raman spectra, SEM-EDS and TEM analysis. Furthermore, tribological properties of MoS2@CNTs composites containing liquid paraffin were comparatively measured by UMT-2 multispecimen friction and wear tester, and various tribological variables including additive concentration, applied load and rotational speed were also investigated in details. Among all samples, 3%-CNS/MoS2 composite exhibits the minimal friction coefficient (similar to 0.10) and wear rate (3.86 x 10(-5) mm(3) N-1 m(-1)) and demonstrates the accentuating improvement in reducing-friction and anti-wear properties. Furthermore, an underlying tribological mechanism of the MoS2@CNTs system was also proposed based on the results of friction experiments and wear scar. The present study envisions new ideas for designing 2D layered composite with potentiating enhancement of tribological properties of lubricating oil and substrate.