Antifriction Additive for Restoration and Protection of Worn Metal Surface

Abstract

A novel lubricant containing 0.10 wt % of Renox-modified Buckminster-fullerene nanoparticles (C₆₀-NP) was applied to steel components and evaluated after multiscale sliding that alternated dry and boundary-lubricated regimes. Post-mortem scanning electron microscopy (1 µm–500 µm) revealed complete suppression of under-surface cracks and a pronounced autonomous flattening of micro-asperities. Tapping-mode atomic-force microscopy (5 µm–200 nm windows) showed that the treated surface is blanketed by a continuous 1–3 nm tribofilm composed of 1.08–1.10 nm nanoparticles that concentrate on asperity crests. Residual-stress analysis with the sin²ψ method on the {311} ferrite reflection produced a slope of 0.00105, corresponding to an in-plane tensile stress of 115 MPa—far below the threshold associated with delamination wear in untreated steel reported in the project appendix. These convergent observations demonstrate that friction-induced welding of C₆₀-NP forms a self-regenerating nano-bearing film that simultaneously lowers shear stress, blocks dislocation emission and restores surface topography. These findings demonstrate a friction-driven, self-assembled carbon–metal nanofilm that simultaneously delivers anti-wear and restorative functionality, offering a compelling technological basis for industrial deployment.