Adhesive solid lubricating coatings are solid lubricating films with a thickness ranging from 20 to 30 micro-meters and are composed of solid lubricants, anti-wear regents, preservatives and other filling materials. They have certain advantages, such as low friction coefficient, wide temperature range, low price, easy operation and so on. By adhering adhesive solid lubricating coatings to the surface of devices, the friction coefficient of surfaces in relative movement can be reduced. However, as for most adhesive solid lubricants, the adhesives used are dissolved in organic solvent. Moreover, during the dispersion process of fillings, organic solvent is used as well. All of these will cause pollution to the environment. Therefore, it is urgent to develop environmental-friendly lubricants.

The research group for wear and surface engineering with the R&D Center of Lubricating and Protecting Materials, Lanzhou Institute of Chemical Physics (LICP), Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), has invented new aqueous epoxy adhesive solid lubricant. The invention received Chinese invention patent on April 10. The patent number is ZL ZL200910221166.5.

The newly developed lubricants are composed of bi-component aqueous epoxy resin, solid lubricants, anti-wear regents, surfactants, preservatives, anti-sediment agents and water. They can be coated on the surfaces of devices made of stainless steel, carbon steel and alloys.

The outstanding characteristics of the lubricants are that they are pollution-free and the solvent used is water and they do no harm to operation staff. What’s more, the coatings possess excellent anti-friction and anti-wear properties and good physical and chemical performances. The can replace adhesive solid lubricants using organic solvent and be applied in many mechanical devices.