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Adhesion-dependent negative friction coefficient on chemically modified graphite at the nanoscale

Published

Author(s)

Zhao Z. Deng, Alexander Smolyanitsky, Qunyang Li, Xi-Qiao Feng, Rachel J. Cannara

Abstract

A negative friction coefficient is observed for graphite using atomic force microscopy. The magnitude of the friction coefficient increases with adhesion, which we control by exposing graphite to different conditions. We demonstrate that the negative coefficient is a mechanical effect arising from changes in the bending stiffness of the top layer of graphite with applied load, and not a result of a change in atomic corrugation. We further show that the adhesive force at which the onset of this negative friction-load dependence occurs is determined by the interlayer binding energy.
Citation
Nature Materials
Volume
11
Issue
12

Keywords

nanoscale friction, nanoscale adhesion, graphite, interlayer binding energy, atomic force microscopy, friction force microscopy

Citation

Deng, Z. , Smolyanitsky, A. , Li, Q. , Feng, X. and Cannara, R. (2012), Adhesion-dependent negative friction coefficient on chemically modified graphite at the nanoscale, Nature Materials, [online], https://doi.org/10.1038/nmat3452, https://tsapps.nist.gov/publication/get_pdf.cfm?pub_id=908424 (Accessed March 28, 2024)
Created October 13, 2012, Updated October 12, 2021