Novel water-based nanolubricants using TiO₂ nanoparticles (NPs) were synthesised by adding sodium dodecyl benzene sulfonate (SDBS) and glycerol, which exhibited excellent dispersion stability and wettability. The tribological performance of the synthesised nanolubricants was investigated using an Rtec ball-on-disk tribometer, and their application in hot steel rolling was evaluated on a 2-high Hille 100 experimental rolling mill, in comparison to those without SDBS. The water-based nanolubricant containing 4 wt% TiO₂ and 0.4 wt% SDBS demonstrated superior tribological performance by decreasing coefficient of friction and ball wear up to 70.5% and 84.3%, respectively, compared to those of pure water. In addition to the lubrication effect, the suspensions also had significant effect on polishing of the work roll surface. The resultant surface improvement thus enabled the decrease in rolling force up to 8.3% under a workpiece reduction of 30% at a rolling temperature of 850 ℃. The lubrication mechanisms were primarily ascribed to the formation of lubricating film and ball-bearing effect of the TiO₂ NPs.

Semiconductor and laser single crystals are usually brittle and hard, which need to be ground to have satisfactory surface integrity and dimensional precision prior to their applications. Improvement of the surface integrity of a ground crystal can shorten the time of a subsequent polishing process, thus reducing the manufacturing cost. The development of cost-effective grinding technologies for those crystals requires an in-depth understanding of their deformation and removal mechanisms. As a result, a great deal of research efforts were directed towards studying this topic in the past two or three decades. In this review, we aimed to summarize the deformation and removal characteristics of representative semiconductor and laser single crystals in accordance with the scale of mechanical loading, especially at extremely small scales. Their removal mechanisms were critically examined based on the evidence obtained from high-resolution TEM analyses. The relationships between machining conditions and removal behaviors were discussed to provide a guidance for further advancing of the grinding technologies for those crystals.