Advanced carbons in lubricants

Graphite is the most established advanced carbon in lubrication, used both as a dry solid lubricant and as an additive in oil and grease formulations. Its lamellar structure allows easy sliding between layers, so it works as a powder, spray or bonded coating at temperatures up to about 450 degrees Celsius in air and higher in inert atmospheres, where liquid lubricants fail, and it is standard in forging dies, open gears and high-temperature bearings. Graphene nanoplatelets are an emerging additive that cut friction at very low loadings, with reported reductions of 15 to 30% in coefficient of friction at 0.01 to 0.1% addition in engine oil.

Nanodiamonds act as nanoscale rolling elements in lubricants, with spherical particles of about 4 to 6 nanometres separating sliding surfaces, and tests report up to 30 to 40% reductions in wear alongside 10 to 20% reductions in friction in gear oil. Carbon nanotubes are being explored as oil additives that add load-bearing capacity and modify viscosity, and graphite combined with carbon nanotubes serves high-pressure industrial gearboxes and metal-forming. Together these materials compete mainly in the boundary and mixed-lubrication regimes.

The global graphite lubricant market was valued at about $1.76 billion in 2024 and is growing at roughly 4.3% a year to 2034, with spray and liquid forms making up about 43% of the market. Graphene as a lubricant oil additive was worth about $300 million in 2024 and is forecast to grow at around 15.5% annually to 2033. Nanodiamonds, for which lubrication is a key application, sit within a global market of about $415 million in 2025.