NANOPARTICLE ADDITIVES AND LUBRICANT FORMULATIONS CONTAINING THE NANOPARTICLE ADDITIVES

• US 20080161213A1
• Filed: 01/03/2007
• Published: 07/03/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 01/03/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Afton Chemical Corporation (Newmarket Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Afton Chemical Corporation (Newmarket Corporation)
• Inventors: Devlin, Mark T., Aradi, Allen A., Jao, Tze-Chi
• Granted Patent: US 8,741,821 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 508/165
• CPC Class Codes: B82Y 30/00 Nanotechnology for materials or surface science, e.g. nanocomposites
• CPC Class Codes: C01F 17/235 Cerium oxides or hydroxides
• CPC Class Codes: C01P 2004/03 obtained by SEM
• CPC Class Codes: C01P 2004/32 Spheres
• CPC Class Codes: C01P 2004/64 Nanometer sized, i.e. from 1-100 nanometer
• CPC Class Codes: C10M 125/10 Metal oxides, hydroxides, carbonates or bicarbonates
• CPC Class Codes: C10M 125/22 Compounds containing sulfur, selenium or tellurium
• CPC Class Codes: C10M 2201/062 Oxides; Hydroxides; Carbonates or bicarbonates
• CPC Class Codes: C10M 2201/065 Sulfides; Selenides; Tellurides
• CPC Class Codes: C10M 2207/289 containing free hydroxy groups
• CPC Class Codes: C10N 2010/00 Metal present as such or in compounds
• CPC Class Codes: C10N 2020/06 Particles of special shape or size
• CPC Class Codes: C10N 2040/04 Oil-bath; Gear-boxes; Automatic transmissions; Traction drives
• CPC Class Codes: C10N 2040/06 Instruments or other precision apparatus, e.g. damping fluids
• CPC Class Codes: C10N 2040/25 Internal-combustion engines
• CPC Class Codes: C10N 2040/253 Small diesel engines
• CPC Class Codes: C10N 2040/255 Gasoline engines
• CPC Class Codes: C10N 2050/015 Dispersions of solid lubricants

Abstract

A method for reducing a friction coefficient adjacent a lubricated surface, and a lubricant composition for reducing a friction coefficient between lubricated surfaces. The method includes providing an amount of metal-containing dispersed in a fully formulated lubricant composition containing a base oil of lubricating viscosity, wherein the nanoparticles have an average particles size ranging from about 1 to about 10 nanometers. The lubricant composition containing the metal-containing nanoparticles is applied to a surface to be lubricated.

Claims

1. A method for reducing a friction coefficient adjacent a lubricated surface, comprising providing an amount of metal-containing nanoparticles dispersed in a fully formulated lubricant composition containing a base oil of lubricating viscosity, and applying the lubricant composition containing the metal-containing nanoparticles to a surface to be lubricated, wherein the nanoparticles are represented by the formula (A_a)_m(B_b)_nX_x, wherein each of A, B is selected from a metal, X is selected from the group consisting of oxygen and sulfur, subscripts a, b, and x represent compositional stoichiometry, and each of m and n is greater than or equal to zero with the proviso that at least one of m and n is greater than zero, and wherein the nanoparticles have an average particles size ranging from about 1 to about 10 nanometers.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the lubricated surface comprises an engine drive train.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the lubricated surface comprises an internal surface or component of an internal combustion engine.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the lubricated surface comprises an internal surface or component of a compression ignition engine.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the amount of metal-containing nanoparticles in the fully formulated lubricant composition ranges up to about 5 percent by weight.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the amount of metal-containing nanoparticles in the fully formulated lubricant composition ranges from about 0.1 to about 2 percent by weight.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein each of A and B is selected from the group consisting of metals from Groups 1A, 2A, 3A, 4A, 5A, and 6A of the Periodic Table, transition metals, lanthanides, actinides, and mixtures thereof.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the metal-containing nanoparticles comprise cerium oxide nanoparticles having a spherical shape.

9. A method of reducing a friction coefficient of an engine lubricant composition during operation of an engine containing the lubricant composition, comprising contacting the engine parts with a fully formulated lubricant composition comprising a base oil of lubricating viscosity and an amount of metal-containing nanoparticles sufficient to reduce the friction coefficient to below a friction coefficient of a lubricant composition devoid of the metal-containing nanoparticles, wherein the nanoparticles have an average particle size ranging from about 1 to about 10 nanometers, and wherein the nanoparticles are represented by the formula (A_a)_m(B_b)_nX_x, wherein each of A, B is selected from a metal, X is selected from the group consisting of oxygen and sulfur, subscripts a, b, and x represent compositional stoichiometry, and each of m and n is greater than or equal to zero with the proviso that at least one of m and n is greater than zero.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein the engine comprises a heavy duty diesel engine.

11. The method of claim 9, wherein the amount of cerium oxide nanoparticles in the fully formulated lubricant composition ranges up to about 5 percent by weight.

12. The method of claim 9, wherein the amount of cerium oxide nanoparticles in the fully formulated lubricant composition ranges from about 0.1 to about 2 percent by weight.

13. The method of claim 9, wherein each of A and B is selected from the group consisting of metals from Groups 1A, 2A, 3A, 4A, 5A, and 6A of the Periodic Table, transition metals, lanthanides, actinides, and mixtures thereof.

14. A method of for reducing wear between moving parts using a lubricating oil, the method comprising using as the lubricating oil for one or more moving parts a lubricant composition containing a base oil, and an oil additive package including a wear reducing agent, wherein the wear reducing agent comprises dispersed metal-containing nanoparticles represented by the formula (A_a)_m(B_b)_nX_x, wherein each of A, B is selected from a metal, X is selected from the group consisting of oxygen and sulfur, subscripts a, b, and x represent compositional stoichiometry, and each of m and n is greater than or equal to zero with the proviso that at least one of m and n is greater than zero, and wherein the amount of nanoparticles in the lubricant composition ranges up to about 5 percent by weight of the total lubricant composition.

15. The method of claim 14, wherein the moving parts comprise moving parts of an engine.

16. The method of claim 15, wherein the engine is selected from the group consisting of a compression ignition engine and a spark ignition engine.

17. The method of claim 15, wherein the engine includes an internal combustion engine having a crankcase and wherein the lubricating oil comprises a crankcase oil present in the crankcase of the engine.

18. The method of claim 14, wherein the lubricating oil comprises a drive train lubricant present in a drive train of a vehicle containing the engine.

19. The method of claim 14, wherein the wear reducing agent is present in the lubricant composition in an amount ranging from about 0.1 to about 5 percent by weight.

20. The method of claim 14, wherein the wear reducing agent has an average particle size ranging from about 1 to about 10 nanometers.

21. A lubricant composition comprising:

a base oil of lubricating viscosity; and

a boundary friction reducing amount of self-dispersing metal-containing nanoparticles dspersed in the base oil, wherein the nanoparticles have an average particles size ranging from about 1 to about 10 nanometers and are represented by the formula (A_a)_m(B_b)_nX_x, wherein each of A, B is selected from a metal, X is selected from the group consisting of oxygen and sulfur, subscripts a, b, and x represent compositional stoichiometry, and each of m and n is greater than or equal to zero with the proviso that at least one of m and n is greater than zero, and wherein the metal-containing nanoparticles are effective to reduce a boundary friction coefficient between lubricated metal surfaces to below a boundary friction coefficient between the lubricated metal surfaces of a lubricant composition devoid of the metal-containing nanoparticles.

22. The lubricant composition of claim 21, wherein the amount of metal-containing nanoparticles dispersed in the base oil ranges up to about 5 percent by weight.

23. The lubricant composition of claim 21, wherein the amount of metal-containing nanoparticles dispersed in the base oil ranges from about 0.1 to about 2 percent by weight.

24. The lubricant composition of claim 21, wherein the metal-containing nanoparticles comprises cerium-oxide nanoparticles having a spherical shape.

25. Oil dispersible cerium oxide nanoparticles derived from a cerium acetate solution of amine and organic acid, wherein the solution is irradiated by a high frequency electromagnetic radiation source to provide oil dispersible nanoparticles having a substantially uniform particle size ranging from about 1 to about 10 nanometers.

26. The oil dispersible cerium oxide nanoparticles of claim 25, wherein the nanoparticles have a shape selected from the group consisting of square plates and spherical nanoparticles.

27. The oil dispersible cerium oxide nanoparticles of claim 25, wherein the organic acid comprises an unsaturated fatty acid containing from about 10 to about 26 carbon atoms.

28. The oil dispersible cerium oxide nanoparticles of claim 25, wherein the amine comprises an unsaturated hydrocarbyl amine containing from about 3 to about 24 carbon atoms.

29. The oil dispersible cerium oxide nanoparticles of claim 25, wherein a mole ratio of amine to organic acid in the cerium acetate solution ranges from about 1:

1 to about 3;

1.

30. The oil soluble cerium oxide nanoparticles of claim 29, wherein a mole ratio of amine to cerium acetate in the cerium acetate solution ranges from about 5:

1 to about 10;

1.