Textured surfaces to enhance nano-lubrication

• US 9,592,532 B2
• Filed: 11/26/2014
• Issued: 03/14/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 07/02/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: P&S Global Holdings, LLC
• Original Assignee: NanoMech, Inc.
• Inventors: Malshe, Ajay P.
• Primary Examiner(s): MCAVOY, ELLEN M
• Application Number:
  US14/554,809
• Publication Number:
  US 20150119302A1
• Time in Patent Office: 839 Days
• Field of Search: 508/100
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: B05D 3/00 Pretreatment of surfaces to which liquids or other fluent materials are to be applied; After-treatment of applied coatings, e.g. intermediate treating of an applied coating preparatory to subsequent applications of liquids or other fluent materials successively applying liquids or other fluent materials B05D1/36; drying ovens F26B
• CPC Class Codes: B05D 5/08 to obtain an anti-friction or anti-adhesive surface rendering particulate materials free-flowing in general, e.g. making them hydrophobic B01J2/30
• CPC Class Codes: B32B 3/10 characterised by a discontinuous layer, i.e. formed of separate pieces of material
• CPC Class Codes: B33Y 80/00 Products made by additive manufacturing
• CPC Class Codes: B82Y 30/00 Nanotechnology for materials or surface science, e.g. nanocomposites
• CPC Class Codes: C10M 109/00 Lubricating compositions characterised by the base-material being a compound of unknown or incompletely defined constitution C10M101/00 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: C10M 171/00 Lubricating compositions characterised by purely physical criteria, e.g. containing as base-material, thickener or additive, ingredients which are characterised exclusively by their numerically specified physical properties, i.e. containing ingredients which are physically well-defined but for which the chemical nature is either unspecified or only very vaguely indicated chemically defined ingredients C10M101/00 - C10M169/00; petroleum fractions C10M101/02, C10M121/02, C10M159/04
• CPC Class Codes: C10N 2020/06 Particles of special shape or size
• CPC Class Codes: C10N 2050/025 in the form of films or sheets
• CPC Class Codes: F16C 33/02 Parts of sliding-contact bearings
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 428/9088 Wear-resistant layer
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 977/773 Nanoparticle, i.e. structure having three dimensions of 100 nm or less
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 977/903 for conversion, containment, or destruction of hazardous material
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 428/12993 Surface feature [e.g., rough, mirror]
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 428/24322 Composite web or sheet

Abstract

Embodiments of the present invention may provide textured surfaces to be lubricated, the texturing to enhance the effectiveness of the intended nano-lubrication. The texturing may make asperities and depressions in the surface to be lubricated. This texturing may be executed, for example, by chemical etching, laser etching, or other techniques. This texturing may create locations in the lubricated surface to hold or anchor the intended nano-lubricants, to facilitate the creation of a tribo-film on the surface when the lubricated surface is used under pressure, and resulting in delivery of multiple chemistries from the nano-lubricant.

Claims

1. A textured surface comprising:

a surface with textured features, wherein the textured features comprise at least one feature selected from the group consisting of pores, waves, striations, channels, protrusions, asperities, depressions, grooves, holes, low points, high points, cracks, low areas, high areas, exposed sandwiched layers, and chemically functional material;

a nano-particle lubricant in contact with the textured features of the textured surface in a position to lubricate the surface, wherein the nano-particle lubricant comprises a layered nano-particle macro-composition; and

a tribo-film in contact with the textured features of the textured surface in a position to lubricate the surface, the tribo-film comprising at least one of a phosphorus-containing compound, a phosphide, a boron-containing compound, and a boride, wherein the tribo-film comprises at least a component of the nano-particle lubricant, and wherein the size of one or more of the textured features is a multiple of the size of a unit of the nano-particle lubricant.

3. The textured surface in claim 1, further comprising textured features that are formed by one or more processes selected from the group consisting of etching, chemical etching, chemical functionalization, laser etching, laser blasting, sand blasting, physical etching, mechanical etching, top down processes, bottom up processes, chemical texturing, physical texturing, mechanical texturing, stamping, laser texturing, vapor deposition, plasma deposition, electroplating, self assembly, directed assembly, subtractive manufacturing, additive manufacturing, hybrid manufacturing, and other deposition.

4. The textured surface in claim 1, wherein the surface comprises a substrate with a layer of material deposited over the substrate, and wherein the textured features expose parts of the substrate.

5. The textured surface of claim 1, wherein the nano-particle lubricant comprises a bonded plurality of layered nano-particle macro-compositions.

6. The textured surface of claim 1, wherein the nano-particle lubricant comprises

nanoparticles having an open-ended architecture and comprising an organic medium intercalated in the nanoparticle.

7. The textured surface of claim 1, wherein the nano-particle lubricant comprises a nanoparticle inner nucleus, an intermediate layer around the nucleus, and an outer layer intercalated with the nucleus or encapsulating the nucleus and the intermediate layer.

8. The textured surface of claim 7, wherein the inner nucleus comprises at least one solid nanoparticle material selected from the group consisting of chalcogenides, molybdenum disulphide, tungsten disulphide, graphite, boron nitride, polytetrafluoroethylene, hexagonal boron nitride, soft metals, silver, lead, nickel, copper, cerium fluoride, zinc oxide, silver sulfate, cadmium iodide, lead iodide, barium fluoride, tin sulfide, zinc phosphate, zinc sulfide, mica, boron oxide, borax, fluorinated carbon, zinc phosphide, boron, and combinations thereof.

9. The textured surface of claim 1, wherein the nano-particle lubricant comprises

a plurality of nanoparticle inner nuclei, on each nucleus, an outer layer intercalated with the nucleus or encapsulating the nucleus, the layer with the nucleus forming a layered nanoparticle, and a plurality of bonds, each bond bonded to at least two of the layered nanoparticles, such that each layered nanoparticle is bonded to at least one other of the layered nanoparticles by a bond.

2. A method for forming a textured surface with textured features comprising:

forming the textured features to enhance the effectiveness of a nano-particle lubricant, wherein the textured features comprise at least one feature belonging to the group consisting of pores, waves, striations, channels, protrusions, asperities, depressions, grooves, holes, low points, high points, cracks, low areas, high areas, exposed sandwiched layers, and chemically functional material;

placing a nano-particle lubricant in contact with the textured features of the textured surface in a position to lubricate the surface, wherein the nano-particle lubricant comprises a layered nano-particle macro-composition; and

forming a tribo-film in contact with the textured features of the textured surface in a position to lubricate the surface, the tribo-film comprising at least one of a phosphorus-containing compound, a phosphide, a boron-containing compound, and a boride, wherein the tribo-film comprises at least a component of the nano-particle lubricant, and wherein the size of one or more of the textured features is a multiple of the size of a unit of the nano-particle lubricant.

10. The method of claim 2, wherein the features are formed by one or more processes belonging to the group consisting of etching, chemical etching, chemical functionalization, laser etching, laser blasting, sand blasting, physical etching, mechanical etching, top down processes, bottom up processes, chemical texturing, physical texturing, mechanical texturing, stamping, laser texturing, vapor deposition, plasma deposition, electroplating, self assembly, directed assembly, subtractive manufacturing, additive manufacturing, hybrid manufacturing, and other deposition.

11. The method of claim 2, further comprising forming the surface by depositing a layer of material over a substrate.

12. The method of claim 2, further comprising forming the surface by exposing a part of a substrate having a layer of material deposited over the substrate by forming the textured features.

13. The method of claim 2, wherein the nano-particle lubricant comprises a bonded plurality of layered nano-particle macro-compositions.

14. The method of claim 2, wherein the nano-particle lubricant comprises

nanoparticles having an open-ended architecture and comprising an organic medium intercalated in the nanoparticle.

15. The method of claim 2, wherein the nano-particle lubricant comprises a nanoparticle inner nucleus, an intermediate layer around the nucleus, and an outer layer intercalated with the nucleus or encapsulating the nucleus and the intermediate layer.

16. The method of claim 15, wherein the inner nucleus comprises at least one solid nanoparticle material selected from the group consisting of chalcogenides, molybdenum disulphide, tungsten disulphide, graphite, boron nitride, polytetrafluoroethylene, hexagonal boron nitride, soft metals, silver, lead, nickel, copper, cerium fluoride, zinc oxide, silver sulfate, cadmium iodide, lead iodide, barium fluoride, tin sulfide, zinc phosphate, zinc sulfide, mica, boron oxide, borax, fluorinated carbon, zinc phosphide, boron, and combinations thereof.

17. The method of claim 2, wherein the nano-particle lubricant comprises

a plurality of nanoparticle inner nuclei, on each nucleus, an outer layer intercalated with the nucleus or encapsulating the nucleus, the layer with the nucleus forming a layered nanoparticle, and a plurality of bonds, each bond bonded to at least two of the layered nanoparticles, such that each layered nanoparticle is bonded to at least one other of the layered nanoparticles by a bond.

18. The method in claim 2, wherein forming the features to enhance the effectiveness of a nano-particle lubricant comprises chemical texturing.

19. The method in claim 18, wherein chemical texturing comprises chemically functionalizing at least a portion of the textured surface.

20. The method in claim 19, further comprising the chemical texturing reacting with and anchoring the nano-particle lubricant.