Synthesis and Properties Characterization of Lubricating Additive AlF₃ Nanorods

The AlF₃ nanorods, 1 μm long and 100~300 nm in diameter, were synthesized bysolvothermal reaction with Cr₂AlC powder and HF solution as the reactants.The impact of the synthesis temperature and time on the nanostructures and tribological behavior of the AlF₃ lubricating additive in liquid paraffin was investigated with X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, transmission electronmicroscopy and UMT-2 tribotester.The results show that depending on the grain-size and addition content, the AlF₃ nano-rodssignificantly improved the tribological properties of liquid paraffin.To be specific, an addition of 1 wt% AlF₃ nanorods into liquid paraffin considerably increased the wear-resistance and strongly decreased the friction coefficient, possibly because of rolling/sliding of the AlF₃ nanorods and because of tribo-film formation on the substrate.