Despite excellent tribological behaviors of ionic liquids (ILs) as lubricating oils, their friction-reducing and anti-wear properties must be improved when they are used under severe conditions. There are only a few
reports exploring additives for ILs. Here, MoS2 and WS2 quantum dots (QDs, with particle size less than 10 nm) are prepared via a facile green technique, and they are dispersed in 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium hexafluorophosphate ([BMIm]PF6), forming homogeneous dispersions exhibiting long-term stabilities. Tribological test results indicate that the addition of MoS2 and WS2 QDs in the IL can significantly enhance the friction-reducing and anti-wear abilities of the neat IL under a constant load of 500 N and a temperature of 150 °C. The exceptional tribological properties of these additives in the IL are ascribed to the formation of protective films, which are produced not only by the physical absorption of MoS2 and WS2 QDs at the steel/steel contact surfaces, but also by the tribochemical reaction between MoS2 or WS2 and the iron atoms/iron oxide species.