WS2 tungsten disulfide, as the product brand Dicronite, is a dry lubricant important in environments where wet lubricants cannot be used or can only be used in limited amounts. It’s applied as an extremely thin film that significantly decreases friction and improves performance.
Original Purpose
This product originally was developed for NASA in the 1960s. The engineers needed to figure out how to keep mechanical components lubricated during a trip to the moon and back. Lubrication in space missions would be challenging due to extreme temperatures, vacuum conditions and other factors. A modification of tungsten disulfide was the answer.
Today’s Usage
WS2 tungsten disulfide continues to be used in the aerospace industry for a broad range of equipment. In addition, this product has become integral for lubricating medical devices, machine tools, motors and transmissions, plastic injection molding and more.
About the Compound
The compound consists of just two components: tungsten and sulfur. Both are chemical elements, with tungsten assigned the letter W and sulfur the letter S. Tungsten is a rare metal, whereas sulfur is plentiful and nonmetallic. In solid mineral form, sulfur is a crystal. Tungsten nearly always appears in nature combined with other elements.
People are generally familiar with a rotten egg aroma they associate with sulfur. However, pure sulfur actually doesn’t have an odor. It only smells bad when it mixes with certain other chemicals. Tungsten is not one of them. Tungsten also has no odor by itself.
More information on Dicronite can be viewed at dicronite-texas.com
