Carbon nanotubes based lubricating oils for engines

Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) are well-known nanomaterials with many excellent properties such as high hardness, high strength, and excellent thermal conductivity. Owing to their very high thermal conductivity (2000 W/m.K compared to thermal conductivity of Ag 419 W/m.K), CNTs become ones of the most suitable nano additives for fabricating the lubricating oils in order to increase the thermal conductivity of lubricating oils, to enhance the efficiency of heat dissipation for the engine, and to improve the performance efficiency of engine. In this work, we present the obtained results on application of the CNTs in lubricating oils for some engines. The results showed that with the addition of CNTs, the thermal conductivity of lubricating oils increase about 15%, this helps improve the efficiency of heat dissipation for the engine. Experimental results show that when using the lubricating oils containing carbon nanotubes, the temperature of engine dropped about 10°C, fuel saving was upto 15% and longevity of lubricating oil increased upto 20,000 km.