The application of nanocellulose in eco-friendly lubricants: A review

IF 8.1 1区工程技术 Q1 ENGINEERING, MECHANICAL

Friction Pub Date : 2026-02-09 DOI:10.26599/frict.2026.9441233

Jingwen Li, Chen Du, Miguel A. Delgado, Moisés García-Morales, Ning Lin, Tao Xia, Tobias Amann, Chengqing Yuan, Ke Li

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引用次数: 0

Abstract

Lubricants are widely employed in mechanical systems to reduce energy loss and the wear induced by friction. With increasing concern for environmental protection, the development of eco-friendly lubricants has become increasingly significant. Nanocellulose, a natural material derived from cellulose, attracts increasing research attention in the field of lubrication due to its renewable, non-toxic, and biodegradable properties. Focusing on this emerging research topic, this state-of-the-art review first analyzes the theoretical basis of applying nanocellulose as a thickening agent in eco-friendly lubricating formulations. The following presents an overview of research advances in cellulose nanocrystals (CNCs) and cellulose nanofibrils (CNFs), categorized by their applications as additives or thickeners in aqueous, oil, and grease lubricants. This study also highlights the challenges associated with eco-friendly lubricants based on nanocellulose and offers suggestions for future investigations in this field. It is hoped that this review will inform the research direction of eco-friendly lubricants and promote the development of nanocellulose materials for industrial lubrication applications.

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纳米纤维素在环保润滑油中的应用综述

润滑剂广泛应用于机械系统中，以减少摩擦引起的能量损失和磨损。随着人们对环境保护的日益关注，开发环保型润滑油已变得越来越重要。纳米纤维素是一种从纤维素中提取的天然材料，由于其可再生、无毒、可生物降解的特性，越来越受到润滑领域研究的关注。针对这一新兴的研究课题，本文首先分析了纳米纤维素作为增稠剂应用于环保润滑配方的理论基础。以下概述了纤维素纳米晶体（CNCs）和纤维素纳米原纤维（CNFs）的研究进展，并将其作为添加剂或增稠剂应用于水、油和油脂润滑剂中。本研究还强调了基于纳米纤维素的环保润滑剂所面临的挑战，并为该领域的未来研究提出了建议。希望通过本文的综述，为环保型润滑油的研究方向指明方向，促进纳米纤维素材料在工业润滑中的应用。

本文章由计算机程序翻译，如有差异，请以英文原文为准。

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来源期刊

Friction Engineering-Mechanical Engineering

CiteScore

12.90

自引率

13.20%

发文量

324

审稿时长

13 weeks

期刊介绍： Friction is a peer-reviewed international journal for the publication of theoretical and experimental research works related to the friction, lubrication and wear. Original, high quality research papers and review articles on all aspects of tribology are welcome, including, but are not limited to, a variety of topics, such as: Friction: Origin of friction, Friction theories, New phenomena of friction, Nano-friction, Ultra-low friction, Molecular friction, Ultra-high friction, Friction at high speed, Friction at high temperature or low temperature, Friction at solid/liquid interfaces, Bio-friction, Adhesion, etc. Lubrication: Superlubricity, Green lubricants, Nano-lubrication, Boundary lubrication, Thin film lubrication, Elastohydrodynamic lubrication, Mixed lubrication, New lubricants, New additives, Gas lubrication, Solid lubrication, etc. Wear: Wear materials, Wear mechanism, Wear models, Wear in severe conditions, Wear measurement, Wear monitoring, etc. Surface Engineering: Surface texturing, Molecular films, Surface coatings, Surface modification, Bionic surfaces, etc. Basic Sciences: Tribology system, Principles of tribology, Thermodynamics of tribo-systems, Micro-fluidics, Thermal stability of tribo-systems, etc. Friction is an open access journal. It is published quarterly by Tsinghua University Press and Springer, and sponsored by the State Key Laboratory of Tribology (TsinghuaUniversity) and the Tribology Institute of Chinese Mechanical Engineering Society.