フラーレン添加油の基礎と最新動向

抄録

Carbon nanomaterials (carbon nanotube, graphene, graphite, nanodiamond and fullerene) as lubricants have attracted a great interest in the field of not only their practical application but also theory. They are primarily used as boundary lubrication additives due to their fitness to a narrow gap between sliding surfaces under boundary lubrication condition. It is expected that more environmentally friendly lubricants can be possible by adopting the carbon nanomaterials instead of molybdenum, zinc, sulfur, phosphorus in additives. Fullerene, referring C60, mixture of C60/C70 or their derivatives, shows excellent performance as a lubricant additive applying for variety type of mechanical oils. Contrast to the other carbon materials, fullerene is remarkably unique behavior because it dissolves in oil. It suggests the lubricity of fullerene in oil has distinctive mechanisms in molecular level. Possible lubrication mechanism of fullerene is discussed based on experimental studies.