Puckering Stick-Slip Friction Induced by a Sliding Nanoscale Contact

Abstract

An atomic force microscope reveals that the sliding of a nanotip on a graphite surface occurs through a nanoscale stick-slip mechanism. The angle between the sliding direction and a stiff crystallographic axis determines the periodicity of the slip events defining domains of various friction properties. The experimental data are interpreted using the reaction rate theory, with the energy barrier driven by a local deformation of the surface and a thermally activated relaxation.

Switchable friction enabled by nanoscale self-assembly on graphene

“…Recent work resolved nanoscale stripes in the transverse force response of bulk graphite and ascribed them to a novel puckering-induced stick–slip friction process 32 . These stripes produced domains of anisotropic friction 33 such as those on graphene and hBN.…”

Toughening mechanisms and mechanical properties of graphene nanosheet-reinforced alumina

“…8d-iii) [44][45]. Such delay in layer detachment occurs probably due to slow slithering of layers leading to slip-stick effect (a sudden slip after a period of sticking to a certain position of the surface) and offers complicated inter-layer friction forces as predicted in atomistic simulations [46][47][48]. Fig.…”

“…Such non-identical slip systems, therefore, made it much more energy intensive for the adjacent GNS layers to slide over each other. Moreover, the slip-stick mechanism spreads over a wide area of the GNS surface which leads to formation of extra sliding interfaces during inter-layer movement, hence leading to enhanced lattice atom resistance against sliding and superior friction properties at nanoscale [48,49]. In this way, the larger area of the pulled out GNS seems to inhibit crack propagation, as greater amount of energy will be needed to overcome these friction forces, thus improving the GNS efficiency towards crack-bridging and other toughening mechanisms in the nanocomposite.…”

Graphene used as a lateral force microscopy calibration material in the low-load non-linear regime

“…The necessity of a fast and reliable low-load lateral calibration method has increased in recent years as few-layer graphene and related 2D materials have risen in prominence and LFM has proven to be effective at probing their nanoscale properties. [37][38][39][40][41][42][43][44][45][46][47][48][49][50][51][52] Here we show that a single layer of graphene exfoliated on a supporting oxide substrate, the quintessential sample at the heart of these emergent 2D materials, can actually be used as just such a low-load LFM calibration surface valid in the low-load non-linear frictional regime. Essentially, the technique we describe here is the wedge method extended into the non-linear regime employing a low-friction lowprofile random surface topography, one that is typical for an atomically thin 2D material (such as graphene) situated on a typical substrate surface.…”