Nanosized copper powders prepared by gel-casting method and their application in lubricating oil

Nanosized copper powders were prepared by a gel-casting method using copper nitrate, acrylamide (AM) and N, N′-methylenebisacrylamide (MBAM) as the main raw materials. The as-prepared copper powders were characterized by X-ray diffractometry and scanning electron microscopy, and then added into a 48# industrial white oil. Dispersion and wear properties of the compounded lubricating oil were tested. The results show that the copper powders prepared are of high purity, fine dispersibility with mean particle size of about 60 nm and with a narrow particle size distribution. The nanosized copper powders can be well dispersed in the lubricating oil. The addition of the copper powders obviously improves the anti-wear properties of the lubricating oil owing to their good self-repairing performance. Compared with 48# industrial white lubricating oil, the friction coefficient of GCr15 steel with the compounded oil containing 0.6% copper powders reduces by 0.07 and nearly no wear chippings are found in the scratches of the friction counter parts.