Friction causes huge loss of energy and fuel in many processes and areas of application. Improving the effectiveness of water-based lubricants would be a great step towards green processes and can potentially save huge amounts of energy. This study explores the application of acrylamide and acrylate nanoparticles and their related composites to enhance the tribological behaviour of water-based systems. The nanoparticles are considered to behave as small spheres which prevents direct surface-to-surface contact and instead enables surfaces to roll above them. Indeed, experimental results show a significant reduction in friction and wear when those particles are added to water. But those microgels are soft and will deform and wear off over time. It has also been confirmed that the microgels will decompose to graphite under high pressure. To increase mechanical stability inorganic transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDs) as TiO₂ and MoS₂ are incorporated into the nanoparticles to enhance their mechanical stability and their lubrication behaviour. Raman spectroscopy, field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM), and energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX) mappings are used to investigate lubrication behaviour further on microscopic level. The already gathered promising experimental results highlight the interesting scope of application on water-based lubricants and reduce friction by addition of tailored composite particles into water.