Diamond turns onion-like carbon! US research and development of super smooth onion-like carbon materials

Abstract In 2015, a research team at the Argonne National Laboratory created a superlubricating (near zero friction) material that could be applied to engineering scales. It is mainly made of graphene and tiny diamonds...

In 2015, a research team at the Argonne National Laboratory created a superlubricating (near zero friction) material that could be applied to engineering scales. It is mainly composed of graphene and very small diamond. However, the research team recently replaced graphene with molybdenum disulfide, causing a reaction of molybdenum disulfide to turn diamond into onion-like carbon.

However, what is the conclusion of the change in carbon form in diamond by molybdenum disulfide? Or what kind of application? The research team stated that the material is a self-generated, low-friction dry lubricant. The biggest advantage is that this material is more durable than other solid lubricants.

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Image source: Badri Narayanan and Subramanian Sankaranarayanan, Argonne National Laboratory, USA

Atomic simulation chemistry mechanisms result in reduced friction. Ad: A snapshot of the atom obtained during different periods of sulfur (S-) induced diamond nanoparticle amorphization. Eh: A snapshot of the atom obtained during different time periods in the formation of an onion-like carbon structure.


Ultra-lubricity (the state in which the friction essentially disappears) is a very desirable property. In our lives, many cars and some other mechanical components wear out due to friction and lose their efficiency. To solve these problems, scientists have developed a new material that can achieve superlubricity in a dry environment. At the same time, there are many potential applications, such as wind turbine gears, disk drives in computers, and rotary seals. It is worth mentioning that Argonne National Laboratory has three patents on super-lubrication technology. And they are currently applying for the latest breakthrough patent and will soon be licensed.

In 2015, a multidisciplinary team from the Argonne National Laboratory created a material consisting of graphene, nanodiamond particles and diamond-like carbon, which for the first time showed superlubricity on a macroscopic scale. In order to present the material design information, the researchers will conduct laboratory experiments at the Agung Tribology Laboratory and the Nanomaterials Center (CNM), and at the Argonne Leadership Computing Agency (ALCF) and the National Energy Research Scientific Computing Center. (NERSC) conducted a large-scale molecular dynamics simulation.

The research team continues to develop this lubricant technology. Recently, they replaced graphene with molybdenum disulfide to explore the effects of using other two-dimensional materials.

In addition to detailed experimental studies of this new material, the researchers performed simulations on ALCF's Mira supercomputer to clarify the behavior of this material at the nanoscale. Using LAMMPS (Large Atom/Molecular Massive Parallel Simulator) code, the team's large-scale atomic simulation revealed molecular insights into the mechanical stress-induced tribochemical reaction, which led to this reaction leading to superlubrication.

The researchers found that molybdenum disulfide decomposes into molybdenum and sulfur during the reaction and reacts with the nanodiamond to convert the carbon structure of the diamond into an onion-like carbon structure, ie the onion-like carbon structure is made up of several layers of spheres. As a dry lubricant for the graphite shell group.

This material with an onion-like carbon structure is a self-generating lubricant and can be constantly re-adjusted to provide a longer life than conventional dry lubricants. The research on this research was published in Nature Communications.

To achieve demanding molecular dynamics simulations, ALCF staff worked with IBM, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and Sandia National Laboratories to optimize LAMMPS performance for Mira and other multicore architectures.

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