Measurement of Surface Areas of Basal Plane and Polar Sites in Graphite and MoS2Powders

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Abstract
Recent work on graphite and MoS2 powders revealed that the proportion of basal plane surface in the powder is an important factor in their anti wear properties and that the proportion of the polar “edge” surface may affect the abrasive properties of these solid lubricants. A method has been developed, therefore, for the independent measurements of the total basal plane and edge surfaces in the powders. The basal plane area is determined from the amount of adsorption of n-dotriacontane from solution in n-heptane. Similarly the edge area is determined from the adsorption of n-butanol. A convenient and rapid method of estimating the proportions of basal plane and edge areas in the solid lubricants is to determine the integral heat of preferential adsorption of n-dotriacontane and n-butanol using the flow calorimeter. The saturation of a sample of graphite or MoS2 powder can be carried out by percolation with a succession of dilute solutions in n-heptane, and the total heats evolved are obtained in the form of peaks on the chart of a potentiometric recorder. The method can measure easily basal plane and edge surface areas down to 0.1 m2/g for graphites and can be used tentatively for MoS2.

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