Synthesis and Research Progress on Tribological Application of Inorganic Fullerene-like Transition Metal Sulfide Nanoparticles

Inorganic fullerene like (IF) transition metal sulfides such as WS 2 and MoS 2) have structures similar to that of nested carbon fullerenes and nanotubes. They are attracting increased attention in science and technology because of the good chemical stability and potential tribological applications. Thus the synthesis and research progress on the tribological application of inorganic fullerene like transition metal sulfides are reviewed. It was expected that the composites and electroless Ni P composite coating containing IF WS 2 nanoparticles having better tribological performance than the counterparts containing graphite and layered 2H WS 2 particles would find promising application in the high tech fields of aeronautics and astronautics involving harsh condition tribological problems.