Facile solvothermal preparation and tribological performance of PbSe nanoparticles

Background: Metal dichalcogenides are important branch of functional materials, which have renewed great attention in academia and industry because of their various significant applications. Objective: The aim of the present study is to synthesize PbSe by solvothermal and investigate PbSe’s tribological properties. Results: The XRD pattern of the sample can be readily indexed as PbSe. The tribological properties of PbSe as additives in base oil were investigated using a UMT-2 ball-on-disc tribotester. Under the determinate conditions, the friction coefficient of the base oil containing 1.0 wt. % PbSe was lower than that of the base oil. A stable tribofilm on the rubbing surface could explain the improved tribological properties of PbSe as additives. Conclusion: PbSe nanoparticles have been synthesized successfully via solvothermal reaction. The preliminary tribological experimental results show that the PbSe could be a lubricant additive to the base oil and able to improve the tribological properties under the optimal concentration (1.0 wt. %). The result of tribological experiments demonstrated that the stable tribofilm with PbSe nanoparticles on the rubbing surface could benefit to decreasing surface friction. © 2019 Bentham Science Publishers.