Grease composition including inorganic fullerene-like particles

A grease composition comprising:

• a naphthenic containing oil based medium;
• a lithium containing thickener;
• a metal dichalcogenide monolayer having a sheet-like geometry;
• and
• a fullerene-like nano-structure having a composition selected from the group consisting of tungsten disulfide (WS2), molybdenum disulfide (MoS2) and combinations thereof, the fullerene-like nano-structure having a cage geometry that is hollow at its core and layered at its periphery,
• wherein the fullerene-like nanostructure is a double layered structure, is present in amounts of 0.25 wt % or greater, and provides a load carrying capability that is at least 25% greater than similar composition greases not including additives of the fullerene-like nano-structures, and
• wherein the metal dichalcogenide monolayer is an atomically thin semiconductor of a type MX2, wherein M is a transition metal atom selected from the group consisting of Mo and W and X is a chalcogen atom selected from the group consisting of S, Se and Te.

A method of forming a grease comprising:

• blending a metallic soap with an oil-based medium to provide a grease;
• forming a liquid dispersion containing a metal dichalcogenide monolayer having a sheet-like geometry, the liquid dispersion further containing a fullerene-like nano-structure comprising a plurality of layers each comprised of a metal chalcogenide composition that has a molecular formula of MX2, where M is a metallic element selected from the group consisting of titanium (Ti), vanadium (V), chromium (Cr), manganese (Mn), iron (Fe), cobalt (Co), nickel (Ni), copper (Cu), zinc (Zn), zirconium (Zr), niobium (Nb), molybdenum (Mo), technetium (Tc), ruthenium (Ru), rhodium (Rh), palladium (Pd), silver (Ag), cadmium (Cd), hafnium (Hf), tantalum (Ta), tungsten (W), rhenium (Re), osmium (Os), iridium (Ir), platinum (Pt), gold (Au), mercury (Hg) and combinations thereof, and X is a chalcogen element selected from the group consisting of sulfur(S), selenium (Se), tellurium (Te), oxygen (O) and combinations thereof, the fullerene-like nano-structure having a cage geometry that is hollow at its core and layered at its periphery;
• and
• providing a mixture of the grease with the liquid dispersion containing the metal dichalcogenide monolayer and the fullerene-like nano-structure,
• wherein the metal dichalcogenide monolayer is an atomically thin semiconductor of a type MX2, and
• wherein the fullerene-like nano-structure is a double layered structure and is present in the grease as a dispersed phase that is substantially non-agglomerated particles with diameter of less than 380 nm.