Slippery solid

a solid lubricant has been developed in Israel that does not lose its lubrication properties even in humid conditions. R Tenne and his colleagues, at the Department of Mechanics and Control, Centre for Technological Education, Holon and Department of Materials and Interfaces and Chemical Services Unit, Weizmann Institute, Rehovot, synthesised hollow nanoparticles of tungsten disulphide using a solid gas reaction and yielded the material.

Hollow nanoparticles are structures similar to those of nested carbon fullerenes (Carbon-60) and nanotubes. The hollow nanoparticles of tungsten disulphide had an average particle size of about 120 nanometres