A study on fullerene–acrylamide copolymer nanoball—a new type of water-based lubrication additive

A novel fullerene–acrylamide copolymer was synthesized via radical polymerization. It is soluble in polar solvents such as water, acetone, tetrahydrofuran. The product was characterized by FTIR, UV–vis and GPC. TEM analysis shows that the average particle diameter is about 46 nm. Four-ball tests shows that the addition of a certain concentration of the fullerene copolymer to base stock (2 wt.% triethanolamine aqueous solution) can effectively raise the load-carrying capacity (PB value), and raise the anti-wear ability. SEM analysis shows that the additive results in reducing diameter of wear scar and decreasing wear.