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Fuels & Lubes International Quarter Three 2015
structure at the nano scale. Manipulation at the atomic
level could allow for the creation of materials with
properties on different sides. For example, a lubricant
could have one side that is chemically active, while
another is inert. This would allow one side to easily
attach to materials, while also reducing friction on the
other. The film could be “built particle by particle and
help lubricants remain in interphase,” Rudenko said.
One of the more promising applications of nano
technology thus far has been to address the “downsize
and charge” trend within the automotive industry. One
such example can be seen in the heavily boosted small
displacement engines. Volvo’s XC 90, for example, is
powered by a a 2.0-litre (L) engine, which is boosted to
over 300 horsepower (HP). BMW boasts a 340 HP engine
in their 3 L diesel. These new and more powerful engines
place higher demands on motor oils. These demands
are difficult to meet, given the current technology, but
Zhmud explained that, “Nanomaterials do indeed have
potential for addressing some such challenges, yet there
is a long way to go before balanced formulations are
developed.”
NO MEANINGFUL DEVELOPMENTS FORESEEN
Despite the work that has been done, Zhmud does
not “foresee any meaningful developments with
‘pico’ affix relevant to lubricants and lubrication
engineering, at least during [his] life.”The reason for
Zhmud’s skepticism lies in the nature of chemical
transformations. Said Zhmud, “Oils are made of
molecules, molecules are made of atoms. Atom-
atomic chemical bonds have got a length of 0.1 to 0.16
nm, with typical oil molecules being of ‘nanometer’
size. Chemical transformations of molecules fall into
the area of chemistry, and transformations of atoms
and elementary particles into the areas of nuclear and
elementary particle physics.” He added that the term has
fallen prey to use mostly as a buzzword.
On the other hand, pico technology, which was once
heralded as a “hypothetical future level of technological
manipulation of matter,” by Bob Trivetter, Dale Elenteny
and Joe Manfreda, could soon become a reality, which
could succeed where nanotechnology did not.
Rudenko is one of the people with a more optimistic
view of pico technology’s potential within the industry.
Rudenko's view is that while the technology is indeed in
its nascent stages, there is room for great innovation,
just as there was when the Internet first appeared on the
scene.
A STEP FORWARD?
To understand why pico technology could be such a step
forward for the industry, it is first important to grasp
what it is in relation to current solutions. Pico technology
allows for the manipulation of matter three orders
成为一种现实，解决纳米技术目前无法解决的问题。
Rudenko是业内对微微技术的潜力持乐观观点的人之一。Rudenko
的观点认为，虽然这项技术还处于早期阶段，但具有巨大的创新空间，
就像互联网刚刚出现时一样。
前进的一步？
要理解为什么说对行业来说微微技术是如此一项进步，首先要理解它与
当前解决方案之间的关系。微微技术可以在比目前的纳米技术小三个数
量级的水平上来改造物质。
未来主义者说的是通过改变电子的能量态来改变原子的化学性质。
这种精度，在润滑剂行业内外，可以有无数的令人激动的应用。
在不断提升的燃料经济性的推动下，微微技术已在燃料和润滑油行
业立足。微微技术可以用于显著地降低表面摩擦就是无数的应用之一。
根据Zhmud和Bogdan Pasalskiy发表的论文，有四种主要的材料可以
考虑：富勒烯，纳米金刚石，超分散硼酸和聚四氟乙烯（PTFE）。虽然他
们各有利弊，这些材料以同样的方式实现其功能，即通过与润滑剂接触
而填平金属表面的凹坑。如果润滑油中的悬浮颗粒足够小以填入发动机
中的多孔金属表面，就能产生一种类似水漂的现象。金属表面相互更快
地滑过，润滑油在它们之间形成一层膜，大大降低摩擦，使两个表现可
以更平滑地前后滑动。
巨大的障碍
虽然微微技术具有很大的潜力，但也需要克服一些巨大的障碍，这也是
纳米技术的缺点。据Rudenko说：“大学研究人员和润滑油行业的专业
人士在探索新产品时，存在态度和能力上的差距。一个实际的问题就是
润滑油配方必须在多项性质之间取得平衡。这就限制了纳米添加剂进
入市场。”
Rudenko进一步的解释，比较了纳米添加剂的采纳情况与本世纪初
互联网采纳的情况。简单讲，纳米技术的潜力及其应用的差距根本在
于未来的应用远超技术的发展。此外，2001年时，没有能预见到社交网
络和在线共享经济的爆炸式增长，纳米添加剂的许多应用也没有被预
见。Rudenko说，那时候，人们认为创新要快于技术的发展。“当时我们
Boris Zhmud
