| Issue |
EPL
Volume 125, Number 2, January 2019
|
|
|---|---|---|
| Article Number | 26003 | |
| Number of page(s) | 5 | |
| Section | Condensed Matter: Structural, Mechanical and Thermal Properties | |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1209/0295-5075/125/26003 | |
| Published online | 22 February 2019 | |
Interlayer motion and ultra-low sliding friction in microscale graphite flakes
1 School of Mechanical Engineering, Southwest Jiaotong University - 610031 Chengdu, China
2 Department of Engineering Mechanics, Center for Nano and Micro Mechanics, and Applied Mechanics Lab, Tsinghua University - Beijing 100084, China
Received: 27 October 2018
Accepted: 22 January 2019
The interlayer friction force 
of incommensurate graphite is a key material parameter to understand the mechanism of superlubricity and the unexpected properties of carbon-based materials; however, its determination by direct experiments under different ambient temperatures and sliding velocities is yet to be reported. In this letter, we report the direct, accurate experimental measurement of the 
of microscale incommensurate graphite. The measured per unit area, 
in ambient laboratory conditions, decreases with increasing temperature 
, exhibits a logarithmic increase with respect to sliding velocities 
and remains almost unchanged under various twist angles. At elevated temperatures, can be lower than the resolution of the force sensor, which corresponds to 
per unit area. This is the lowest value reported for lamellar materials. These experimental measurements assist in understanding the mechanism of microscale superlubricity and such an ultra-low friction force will also introduce a wide range of applications in microelectromechanical systems (MEMS).
PACS: 62.20.Qp – Friction, tribology, and hardness / 46.55.+d – Tribology and mechanical contacts / 68.35.Ja – Surface and interface dynamics and vibrations
© EPLA, 2019
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