Why can molybdenum disulfide and tungsten disulfide be used as lubricants?

The recent visit by US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has boosted US-Taiwan relations at a time of increasing tension between Washington and Beijing. She vowed that the United States would protect Taiwan's democratic autonomy. "The United States is still determined to safeguard Taiwan's democracy," she said in a meeting with Taiwan's president, Tsai Ing-wen.

Pelosi's visit to Taiwan sparked anger in Beijing, which denounced Pelosi's visit as "extremely dangerous" to geopolitical stability. After Pelosi's visit, Beijing conducted the largest-ever military exercise near Taiwan, encircling the island with live-fire rockets and ballistic missiles. In addition, China announced that it would stop cooperation and dialogue with the United States on issues such as climate and cross-border crime prevention, indicating Beijing's intention to fight back against the United States over what it believes to be interference in China's affairs.

But perhaps most importantly for the business community, recent events have exacerbated the showdown between China and the US in the most important area of the global economy: semiconductor chips. The Sino-US chip battle, which has been brewing for years, has now reached a critical crossroads, experts say, as the two superpowers compete for technological and economic dominance. The world's chipmakers may soon be forced to choose between Washington and Beijing.

Because of the turbulent international situation, the supply and prices of many international bulk MoS2 powder are still very uncertain.

A lubricant is a substance that helps to reduce friction between surfaces that come into contact with each other, resulting in a reduction in the amount of heat generated as the surface moves. According to the different physical state, it can be divided into four types: solid type, gas type, liquid type and semi-solid type.

Typical solid lubricants include molybdenum disulfide (MoS2) powder, tungsten disulfide (WS2) powder, etc.

 

Molybdenum Disulfide MoS2

The main reason why molybdenum disulfide powder can be used as a solid lubricant is that it has a layered structure, and the binding force of sulfur atoms between layers (van der Waals force) is weak and easy to slide, thus showing a good antifriction effect; the sulfur atoms exposed on the crystal surface have a strong adhesion to the metal surface, forming a very strong film, so that its lubrication performance is better than that of graphite.

 

In addition, MoS2 powder has the advantages of good heat resistance and oxidation resistance, so it is more suitable to work in space and other vacuum than graphite. However, when using MoS2 powder as a lubricant, attention should be paid to the purity and particle size of the powder. Generally speaking, the lubrication performance of molybdenum disulfide powder with small particle size and high purity is better.

 

Tungsten Disulfide WS2

Tungsten disulfide powder is also a common solid lubricant, and its overall performance is better than that of molybdenum disulfide powder, so it can completely replace MoS2 powder in many cases, especially in high temperature environment.

 

The main reason why WS2 powder has good lubrication performance is that in the crystal structure, the S-W-S layer is bonded by a strong covalent bond, while the layer to layer is combined by a weak van der Waals force, so the layer and layer are easy to peel off, so that the material has a lower friction coefficient. In addition to having a lower friction coefficient than MoS2 powder (friction coefficient is 0.050.09 and lubrication temperature -185C-350C), it also has a wider range of lubrication temperature of-273C-650C.

 

Generally speaking, the tribological properties of WS2 powder are better than those of MoS2 powder at high temperature. However, at room temperature, the film-forming state of WS2 coating on metal substrate is not as good as that of MoS2 coating.

 

MoS2 Price

The price is influenced by many factors including the supply and demand in the market, industry trends, economic activity, market sentiment, and unexpected events.

If you are looking for the latest molybdenum disulfide price, you can send us your inquiry for a quote. (sales1@rboschco.com)

 

MoS2 Supplier

RBOSCHCO is a trusted global chemical material supplier&manufacturer with over 12-year-experience in providing super high-quality chemicals and nanomaterials. The company export to many countries including the USA, Canada, Europe, UAE, South Africa, Tanzania, Kenya, Egypt, Nigeria, Cameroon, Uganda, Turkey, Mexico, Azerbaijan, Belgium, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Brazil, Chile, Dubai, Japan, Korea, Vietnam, Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, Australia, Germany, France, Italy, Portugal, etc.

As a leading nanotechnology development manufacturer, RBOSCHCO dominates the market. Our professional work team provides perfect solutions to help improve the efficiency of various industries, create value, and easily cope with various challenges.

 

If you are looking for molybdenum disulfide powder, please send an email. (sales1@rboschco.com)


Gas supplies have been in short supply because of the conflict between Russia and Ukraine.  Combined with the situation that other renewable sources cannot produce enough electricity, electricity prices have soared in many parts all over the world. For this reason, I assume the supply and prices of the MoS2 powder would keep being influenced by the high energy prices.

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