Sled-Type Motion on the Nanometer Scale: Determination of Dissipation and Cohesive Energies of C ₆₀

Abstract

The tribological properties of C(60) on the mesoscopic scale were investigated with a scanning force microscope, which allowed simultaneous measurements of normal and lateral forces under ultrahigh-vacuum conditions. Islands of C(60), deposited on NaCl(001), could be moved by the action of the probing tip in a controlled way. Different modes of motion, such as translation and rotation, were observed. An extremely small dissipation energy of about 0.25 millielectron volt per molecule and a cohesive energy of 1.5 electron volts were determined in these nanometer-scale experiments. The corresponding shear strength of 0.05 to 0.1 megapascal was smaller by one order of magnitude than typical values of boundary lubricants. For C(60) on graphite, disruption of the islands was observed and collective motion of the islands could not be achieved. These results could find use in the field of nanotechnology; for example, C(60) islands could be developed into a sled-type transport system on the nanometer scale.

Interlayer Forces and Ultralow Sliding Friction in Multiwalled Carbon Nanotubes

“…Based on the precision of our instrumentation, we estimate that the friction is below 1:4 10 ÿ15 N=atom, corresponding to a shear strength lower than 0.05 MPa and total dissipated energy per cycle of less than 0:4 meV=atom. This is more than an order of magnitude lower than the previous estimate of 2:3 10 ÿ14 N=atom (0.4 MPa) on the interlayer friction (shear strength) [3] and lower than the observed friction for one of the least dissipative nanoscale interfaces-the incommensurate contact between C 60 islands and NaCl [22]. We thus find that, despite the presence of stable defects leading to an irregular force profile, telescoping nanotubes need not display mechanical dissipation, demonstrating that ''real-world'' nanotubes could be used to construct defect-tolerant linear nanomachines with high performance.…”

Morphology Change of C60 Islands on Organic Crystals Observed by Atomic Force Microscopy

“…This behaviour is similar to C 60 adsorbed on ionic crystals. [34][35][36][37][38][39]44 However, in contrast to C 60 /ionic crystals, C 60 islands on BNL extend rather in height than in width (approximately 10 times narrower than on ionic crystals). Therefore, the growth is governed by a "Volmer-Weber-like" growth mode and suggests a weaker molecule/surface interaction on BNL than on bulk insulators.…”

“…[34][35][36][37][38][39] Additionally, the controlled manipulation of C 60 molecules has also been demonstrated through the action of a SPM tip as single molecules [40][41][42][43] or as entire islands. 44 In the present work, we characterize the adsorption of the C 60 molecules on the organic lay- 20 The van der Walls diameter of one C 60 molecule is ∼ 1 nm and is close to 2c. ered crystal, BNL.…”

Real-time State Estimation and Fault Detection for Controlling Atomic Force Microscope Based Nano Manipualtion

“…Researchers use AFM to change the sample surface through nanolithography (Schaefer (1995) , 骑马丑g (1995)) and nanomar均吐ation (Kim (1992) , Luthi (1994) , Junno (1995) , Stark (1998)) taki丑g advantage of its high resolution and high alignment accuracy. Since AFM collects image data by feeling rather tha丑 looking ， the manipulation process can not be monitored in real-女 This work was supported in part by the National Science Foundation under grants CMMI-01l5355 , and IIS-0713346.…”