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Fuels & Lubes International Quarter Three 2015
Thus far, one of the more ubiquitous applications has
been nanolubrication. Despite the great potential, there
are three basic problems with nanolubrication: stability,
dispersability and the potential for increased wear and
tear. For the purposes of this article, there are two
central questions—what has nano/pico technology done,
and what could it do?
Boris Zhmud, chief technology officer at Applied
Nano Surfaces in Uppsala, Sweden, believes that pico
technology is still in its nascent stage, and “any serious
talks about [it] in lubricants are premature.” Zhmud,
who began his career as a scientist working on “the
border of surface chemistry, physical chemistry and
theoretical chemistry,” does however have a great deal
of experience working with nano materials. Zhmud
decided to make the switch from academia to the
industrial sector and he has worked on a technology
called Triboconditioning®, which greatly reduces wear
and tear on metal surfaces. The company has worked
to increase efficiency when it comes to the “running-
in” period during the first 5,000-10,000 kilometres of
new engines. Rather than use special “running-in” oil
for the first factory fill, “all critical engine components,
including valve train and cylinder bores, are run-in in
manufacture, before the engine is assembled.”
EXCITING APPLICATIONS
Nano and especially pico technology hold some exciting
applications for materials analysis, which could
then lend itself to new technological developments.
According to a paper from the Nanoscience and
Technology Institute (NSTI), “metal oxide particles
display their existence at the level of picomolecules in
solution state and bioactive states in the body.” This
means that engineers can use methods such as Atomic
Force Microscopy (AFM) to gain information that can
lead to higher fuel efficiency and less wear and tear
on moving parts. AFM allows for the examination of
surfaces on the pico level, making it feasible to see
exactly how rough a surface is at extraordinarily high
resolutions. Such information can be used to observe
interactions between atoms.
The Stribeck curve categorises the friction properties
between two surfaces, which can be used to model fuel
efficiency, as well as wear and tear.
MOST PROMISING MATERIALS
Applications for pico technology also extend to lubricants
in the automotive industry. Rudenko explained how
nanomaterials have been used to decrease wear and
tear at the atomic level. Graphene, one of the most
promising materials in a number of different industries,
has been used as a lubricant to significantly decrease
wear and tear in engines. The graphene breakthrough
has to do with its ability to reduce friction, based on its
到目前为止，较普遍的应用之一是纳米润滑。虽然纳米润滑具有很大
的潜力，但有三个根本性的问题：稳定性、分散性和增加磨损和撕裂的
可能。本文主要围绕两个中心问题——纳米/微微技术到底做了什么？
它们能做什么？
瑞典Uppsala的Applied Nano Surfaces公司首席技术官Boris
Zhmud认为，微微技术尚处于早期阶段，“在润滑油方面任何[与之相
关]的认真讨论还为时过早。” Zhmud在其职业生涯早期是一名研究“表
面化学、物理化学和理论化学前沿”的科学家，具有丰富的纳米材料方
面的经验。Zhmud决定从学术领域转向工业领域，目前正在研究称为
Triboconditioning®的技术，它可以大大地降低金属表面的磨损和撕
裂。公司的研究着重于提高对于运行了5000-10000公里处于磨合阶段
新发动机的效率。他们不再把特殊的磨合油用于工厂装填油，“而是在
发动机生产过程中、组装前，对所有关键的发动机部件进行磨合，包括
阀组、气缸。”
令人兴奋的应用
在材料分析方面，纳米技术特别是微微技术有一些令人兴奋的应用，
有可能带来新的技术发展。据纳米科学和技术学院的一篇论文称，“金
属氧化颗粒以微微分子的水平以溶解态和生物活性态存在于体内。”这
就意味着工程师可以采用原子力显微镜（AFM）来获取信息，用于实现
更高的燃料效率和运动部件更低的磨损和撕裂。AFM还可以对表面进
行微微级的检查，以了解在超高分辨率下一个表面的粗糙程度。这些信
息可用于观察原子之间的相互作用。
Stribeck曲线对两个面之间的摩擦性质进行了分类，可用于对燃料效
率、磨损和撕裂进行建模。
最有希望的材料
微微技术的应用还延伸到了汽车润滑油。Rudenko解释了如何采用纳
米材料来降低原子尺度上的磨损和撕裂。石墨烯，在多个行业中最具潜
力的材料，已被用作润滑剂以大幅度降低发动机的磨损和撕裂。石墨烯
的突破主是是因为在纳米尺度上的结构能够降低磨擦。例如，一种润滑
剂有可能在一侧具有化学活性，而另一侧则无化学活性。这使得一侧可
以容易地附着于材料，而在另一侧降低摩擦。这层膜“可以按颗粒逐个排
列，使润滑剂留在界面上，” Rudenko说。
纳米技术的另一个更具前景的应用是用于解决汽车业的“小型化”趋
势。例如大量出现的小排量发动机。Volvo的XC 90采用2.0升排量发
动机，马力高达300HP。宝马则采用其3升排量的柴油发动机达到了
340HP。这些新的，功率更大的发动机对机油提出了很高的要求。根据
现有的技术很难满足这些要求，但Zhmud解释说，“纳米材料确实具有
解决这些挑战的潜力，但还需要很长时间才能开发出平衡的配方。”
尚未预见到有实质意义的进展
尽管已开展了一些工作，但Zhmud并不能“在我有生之年预见在润滑剂
和润滑工程方面可以利用微微技术实现有意义的发展。”他的怀疑态度
基于化学变化的本质。他说：“油品是由分子构成的，分子是由原子构成
的。原子与原子之间的化学键长度为0.1-0.16 nm，油分子的尺寸属于典
型的‘纳米’级别。分子的化学变化属于化学的范畴，而原子和基本粒子
的变化属于核物理和基本粒子物理范畴。”他还说这个热门的术语实际
上处于一个灰色地带。
另一方面，微微技术，曾一度被Bob Trivetter、Dale Elenteny和
Manfreda冠以“假设的对物质进行技术改造的未来水平，”有可能很快
