The College of Engineering at the University of Baghdad witnessed the public defense of the master’s thesis by Haider Ahmed Hadi in the Department of Chemical Engineering. His thesis, titled “Preparation of Nanoparticles and Investigation of their Effect on Enhancing the Properties of Lubricating Oils” was presented on Monday, 7 September 2026, in Professor Mahmoud Omar Hall within the Department of Chemical Engineering, under the supervision of Prof. Dr. Raghad Fareed Kasem.
Many types of lubricating oils, materials that are indispensable to engines, have become available in the local market due to the increasing openness of trade with foreign countries. Some of these lubricants do not conform to standard specifications. A promising strategy for enhancing the performance characteristics of lubricants is the use of nano-additives.
The present study investigates the preparation and addition of nanoparticles (NPs) to commercial lubricant oils. Zinc oxide (ZnO) and silicon dioxide (SiO2) NPs were prepared using the sol-gel method. The prepared NPs were characterized by XRD, EDS, FTIR, SEM, and AFM analyses. The characterization analyses revealed successful preparation of these NPs. Both NPs were individually blended with commercial (5W-20) lubricant at different weight fractions (0.1, 0.3, 0.5, 0.7, and 1.0 wt.%) to study the effect of weight fraction on the rheological properties of the lubricant used. The results showed improvements in kinematic viscosity (KV) at 100℃ (from 8.5 cst to 8.9 cst for ZnO NPs), viscosity index (VI) (from 117 to 121.5 with ZnO NPs), the flash point (FP) (from 228 ̊C to 248 ̊C for ZnO NPs), and pour point (PP) (from -36 ̊C to -39 ̊C for each ZnO and SiO2 NPs). All these results were obtained with the best values at 1.0 wt. %.
Different fractions of ZnO and SiO2 NPs of total 1.0 wt.% weight fraction [(0.25 wt.% ZnO,0.75 wt.% SiO2), (0.5 wt.% ZnO, 0.5 wt.% SiO2), and (0.75 wt.% ZnO, 0.25 wt.% SiO2)] were investigated as hybrid nano-additives to (5W-20) lubricant. The best results obtained were for (0.75 wt.% ZnO, 0.25 wt.% SiO2) hybrid; kinematic viscosity (KV) at 100℃ (from 8.5 cst to 8.6 cst) and viscosity index (VI) (from 117 to 120.2).
The best weight fraction of individual and hybrid NPs were applied on the other two commercial lubricants (10W-30) and (10W-40). The experimental results demonstrated a significant enhancement in the rheological properties of the nano-modified oils. The tribological properties were checked by the wear scar diameter test (WSD),
The stability of nano-lubricants was examined, represented by (10W-30) nano-lubricant, through zeta potential and UV spectroscopy, in addition to the visual observation. The results revealed that the stability was of the order: SiO2, hybrid (0.75 ZnO/0.25 SiO2), and ZnO. It was concluded that nano-addition was a promising solution to the shortcomings of lubricant oils.
The committee made recommendations after taking into account the content of the thesis, the results, the references, the research method, the extent to which culture is included in additions to knowledge and the expansion of its horizons, and the father and in line with the defense of the student, who decided the organization as follows:
1- The student who holds a master’s degree with distinction.
2- Make parties on the necessary message that was agreed upon during the discussion.
