Chemical and physical origins of friction on surfaces with atomic steps.

ABSTRACT: Friction occurs through a complex set of processes that act together to resist relative motion. However, despite this complexity, friction is typically described using a simple phenomenological expression that relates normal and lateral forces via a coefficient, the friction coefficient. This one parameter encompasses multiple, sometimes competing, effects. To better understand the origins of friction, here, we study a chemically and topographically well-defined interface between silica and graphite with a single-layer graphene step edge. We identify the separate contributions of physical and chemical processes to friction and show that a single friction coefficient can be separated into two terms corresponding to these effects. The findings provide insight into the chemical and topographi

SUBMITTER: Chen Z 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6688867 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature