G. Christensen, J. Yang, H. Younes, G. Hong, D. Lou, H. Hong, C. Widener, R. Hrabe
South Dakota School of Mines and Technology,
United States
Keywords: hydrogen bonding, carbon nano grease, carbon nanomaterial, base fluid, oil, carbon nanotube, carbon nanofiber, resistivity, conductivity
Summary:
In this abstract, we report significant electrical resistivity reduction of grease while reducing the carbon nanotube and carbon nanofiber loading. The key to this new discovery is hydrogen bonding. We have discovered that the introduction of hydrogen bonding in any form into the grease decreases the electrical resistivity. The grease structure is created by the addition of sole carbon nanotubes and nanofibers to a base fluid. This makes the grease unique and high performance. Grease of bulk electrical resistivity as low as 6.9 ohm has been achieved with only 6.54 wt. % carbon nanofibers added. This discovery is totally different with the prior work, which was only focused on the non-functional nanotube, and not understand the relationship between conductivity and nanotube/oil structure. The advantage of this discovery is that we are able to greatly increase performance with minimal cost increase and lead to promising commercial future.