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Structural lubricity under ambient conditions

Author

Listed:
  • Ebru Cihan

    (UNAM—Institute of Materials Science and Nanotechnology, Bilkent University)

  • Semran İpek

    (UNAM—Institute of Materials Science and Nanotechnology, Bilkent University)

  • Engin Durgun

    (UNAM—Institute of Materials Science and Nanotechnology, Bilkent University)

  • Mehmet Z. Baykara

    (UNAM—Institute of Materials Science and Nanotechnology, Bilkent University
    Bilkent University)

Abstract

Despite its fundamental importance, physical mechanisms that govern friction are poorly understood. While a state of ultra-low friction, termed structural lubricity, is expected for any clean, atomically flat interface consisting of two different materials with incommensurate structures, some associated predictions could only be quantitatively confirmed under ultra-high vacuum (UHV) conditions so far. Here, we report structurally lubric sliding under ambient conditions at mesoscopic (∼4,000–130,000 nm2) interfaces formed by gold islands on graphite. Ab initio calculations reveal that the gold–graphite interface is expected to remain largely free from contaminant molecules, leading to structurally lubric sliding. The experiments reported here demonstrate the potential for practical lubrication schemes for micro- and nano-electromechanical systems, which would mainly rely on an atomic-scale structural mismatch between the slider and substrate components, via the utilization of material systems featuring clean, atomically flat interfaces under ambient conditions.

Suggested Citation

  • Ebru Cihan & Semran İpek & Engin Durgun & Mehmet Z. Baykara, 2016. "Structural lubricity under ambient conditions," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 7(1), pages 1-6, November.
    • Handle: RePEc:nat:natcom:v:7:y:2016:i:1:d:10.1038_ncomms12055
    DOI: 10.1038/ncomms12055
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    Cited by:

    1. Xuanyu Huang & Tengfei Li & Jin Wang & Kai Xia & Zipei Tan & Deli Peng & Xiaojian Xiang & Bin Liu & Ming Ma & Quanshui Zheng, 2023. "Robust microscale structural superlubricity between graphite and nanostructured surface," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 14(1), pages 1-11, December.
    2. Dhanola, Anil & Khanna, Navneet & Gajrani, Kishor Kumar, 2022. "A critical review on liquid superlubricitive technology for attaining ultra-low friction," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 165(C).

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