Fabrication and Tribological Properties of Pb Nanoparticles

In this paper, we describe a surfactant-assisted solution dispersion method to obtain metal nanoparticles, which involves dispersing and stabilizing metal droplets in an appropriate solvent. This method has been successfully used to prepare Pb nanoparticles from bulk Pb. The X-ray powder diffraction and transmission electron microscopy investigations show the formation of Pb nanoparticles possessing the same crystal structure as bulk metal and an average particle diameter of 40 nm. Thermal analysis indicates that Pb nanoparticles have organic shell, which is in agreement with the excellent oil-solubility. In addition, the tribological properties of Pb nanoparticles as additive in oil are discussed.