Friction and Wear on the Atomic Scale

A special issue of Lubricants (ISSN 2075-4442).

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 December 2024 | Viewed by 5460

Special Issue Editors


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Guest Editor
Research Institute of Frontier Science, Southwest Jiaotong University, Chengdu 610031, China
Interests: nanotribology; molecular dynamics; tribochemistry
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

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Guest Editor
School of Mechanical Engineering, Southwest Jiaotong University, Chengdu, China
Interests: micro-/nano-friction; superlubricity

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

During the last several decades, tribology research has entered into the atomic scale owing to the rapid development of microscopy and computer simulation techniques. Research regarding atomic-scale friction, wear, and lubrication may greatly benefit the further advancement of nanotechnologies, including but not limited by nano-electromechanical systems (NEMSs), nanolithography, and nanomanufacturing. Distinct to the conventional macroscale tribological phenomenon, a variety of novel and interesting friction/wear phenomena have appeared at the nanoscale and atomic scale. Moreover, some conventional tribological theories no longer hold with the decreasing length scale. These facts place the research of atomic-scale friction/wear at the frontier of tribology research, attracting the attention of those working within the field broadly.

There are some many sub-topics in this research field, including the following: friction and wear fundamentals, structural superlubricity, tribochemical wear, tribochemistry, tribofilms, triboemission, atomic-scale contact, triboluminescence, interfacial adhesion, and nanoparticle additives. This Special Issue welcome contributions from all scientists working in atomic-scale friction/wear and related areas.

Prof. Dr. Yang Wang
Dr. Wen Wang
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

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Keywords

  • nanotribology
  • nanoscale wear
  • superlubricity
  • tribochemistry
  • interfacial bonding
  • surface adhesion
  • tribofilm
  • AFM/TEM
  • molecular dynamics
  • first principles

Published Papers (4 papers)

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Research

11 pages, 5718 KiB  
Article
A Classical Molecular Dynamics Study of the Effect of the Atomic Force Microscope Tip Shape, Size and Deformation on the Tribological Properties of the Graphene/Au(111) Interface
by Cem Maden, Hande Ustunel and Daniele Toffoli
Lubricants 2024, 12(2), 46; https://doi.org/10.3390/lubricants12020046 - 6 Feb 2024
Viewed by 1207
Abstract
Atomic force microscopes are used, besides their principal function as surface imaging tools, in the surface manipulation and measurement of interfacial properties. In particular, they can be modified to measure lateral friction forces that occur during the sliding of the tip against the [...] Read more.
Atomic force microscopes are used, besides their principal function as surface imaging tools, in the surface manipulation and measurement of interfacial properties. In particular, they can be modified to measure lateral friction forces that occur during the sliding of the tip against the underlying substrate. However, the shape, size, and deformation of the tips profoundly affect the measurements in a manner that is difficult to predict. In this work, we investigate the contribution of these effect to the magnitude of the lateral forces during sliding. The surface substrate is chosen to be a few-layer AB-stacked graphene surface, whereas the tip is initially constructed from face-centered cubic gold. In order to separate the effect of deformation from the shape, the rigid tips of three different shapes were considered first, namely, a cone, a pyramid and a hemisphere. The shape was seen to dictate all aspects of the interface during sliding, from temperature dependence to stick–slip behavior. Deformation was investigated next by comparing a rigid hemispherical tip to one of an identical shape and size but with all but the top three layers of atoms being free to move. The deformation, as also verified by an indentation analysis, occurs by means of the lower layers collapsing on the upper ones, thereby increasing the contact area. This collapse mitigates the friction force and decreases it with respect to the rigid tip for the same vertical distance. Finally, the size effect is studied by means of calculating the friction forces for a much larger hemispherical tip whose atoms are free to move. In this case, the deformation is found to be much smaller, but the stick–slip behavior is much more clearly seen. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Friction and Wear on the Atomic Scale)
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16 pages, 15459 KiB  
Article
How Do Substrates Affect the Friction on Graphene at the Nanoscale?
by Haochen Feng, Ziwen Cheng, Dongxu Long, Tingting Yang, Zhibin Lu and Qichang He
Lubricants 2023, 11(11), 465; https://doi.org/10.3390/lubricants11110465 - 30 Oct 2023
Viewed by 1344
Abstract
Substrates supporting two-dimensional materials are omnipresent in micro/nano electromechanical systems. Moreover, substrates are indispensable to all nanotribological experimental systems. However, substrates have rarely been taken into account in first-principles simulations of nanotribological systems. In this work, we investigate the effects of substrates on [...] Read more.
Substrates supporting two-dimensional materials are omnipresent in micro/nano electromechanical systems. Moreover, substrates are indispensable to all nanotribological experimental systems. However, substrates have rarely been taken into account in first-principles simulations of nanotribological systems. In this work, we investigate the effects of substrates on nanofriction by carrying out first-principles simulations of two systems: (a) one graphene monolayer sliding on another one supported by a metal substrate, denoted as the Gr-Gr/Metal system; and (b) a diatomic tip sliding on a graphene monolayer supported by a metal substrate, named the Tip-Gr/Metal system. Each substrate is made of triatomic layers constituting the minimum period and obtained by cutting a metal through its (111) surface. By varying metal substrates and analyzing the results of the first-principles simulations, it follows that (i) the fluctuation in the sliding energy barriers of the two systems can be modified by changing substrates; (ii) the adsorption type and the pressure affect friction; (iii) the presence of a substrate varies the interfacial binding strength; and (iv) the modulation of friction by substrates lies in altering the interface electron density. These results provide an answer to the important question of how substrates affect the friction on graphene at the nanoscale. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Friction and Wear on the Atomic Scale)
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15 pages, 4105 KiB  
Article
Effect of Graphene on Nickel Surface Relaxation: Molecular Dynamics Simulation
by Sergiy Konorev, Vitalii Yanchuk, Ivan Kruhlov, Andrii Orlov, Sergii Sidorenko, Igor Vladymyrskyi, Sergey Prikhodko and Svitlana Voloshko
Lubricants 2023, 11(9), 405; https://doi.org/10.3390/lubricants11090405 - 16 Sep 2023
Viewed by 1116
Abstract
The effect of graphene (GR) on Ni surface relaxation and reconstruction in three different substrate orientations, {111}, {001}, and {011}, at two different temperatures, 300 K and 400 K, was studied using molecular dynamics simulation. The change in the interplanar distances of the [...] Read more.
The effect of graphene (GR) on Ni surface relaxation and reconstruction in three different substrate orientations, {111}, {001}, and {011}, at two different temperatures, 300 K and 400 K, was studied using molecular dynamics simulation. The change in the interplanar distances of the substrate and redistribution of Ni and C atoms in a direction perpendicular to the surface was compared with the equilibrium state of GR and bulk Ni, in the absence of the counterpart. The surface reconstruction for the GR/Ni system was analyzed based on the calculated radial pair distribution functions of Ni and C atoms. The surface roughness was visualized using 2D atomic distribution maps. The introduction of GR on the Ni surface in any crystallographic orientation decreases the maximum modification of interplanar spacing compared to the bulk by less than 1%. For the studied substrate orientations and temperatures, it was found that the most densely packed {111} orientation of the Ni base provides minimal changes in the structural parameters of both counterparts at 400 K. Additionally, the system formed by GR deposition on Ni {111} at 400 K is characterized by the least roughness. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Friction and Wear on the Atomic Scale)
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25 pages, 35869 KiB  
Article
Effect of the Distribution Characteristics of TiC Phases Particles on the Strengthening in Nickel Matrix
by Dingfeng Qu, Min Zheng, Zongxiao Zhu, Wenbang Chen, Weihua Chen, Tianzuo Shi and Jie Chen
Lubricants 2023, 11(2), 83; https://doi.org/10.3390/lubricants11020083 - 15 Feb 2023
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1172
Abstract
Molecular dynamics (MD) was used to simulate the effect of TiC particles distribution on the tribological behavior of the reinforced composites. The mechanical properties, friction coefficient, number of wear atoms, stress and temperature, and microscopic deformation behavior of TiC/Ni composites during nano-friction were [...] Read more.
Molecular dynamics (MD) was used to simulate the effect of TiC particles distribution on the tribological behavior of the reinforced composites. The mechanical properties, friction coefficient, number of wear atoms, stress and temperature, and microscopic deformation behavior of TiC/Ni composites during nano-friction were systematically investigated by MD to reveal the effect of TiC distribution on the friction removal mechanism of the material. It was found that the larger the radius of the TiC particles, or the shallower the depth of the TiC particles, the easier it was to generate stress concentrations around the TiC particles, forming a high dislocation density region and promoting the nucleation of dislocations. This leads to severe friction hardening, reducing the atomic number of abrasive chips and reducing the friction coefficient by approximately 6% for every 1 nm reduction in depth, thus improving the anti-wear capacity. However, when the radius of the TiC particles increases and the thickness from the surface deepens, the elastic recovery in material deformation is weakened. We also found that the presence of the TiC particles during the friction process changes the stress state inside the workpiece, putting the TiC particles and the surrounding nickel atoms into a high-temperature state and increasing the concentrated temperature by 30 K for every 1 nm increase in depth. Nevertheless, the workpiece atoms below the TiC particles invariably exist in a low-temperature state, which has a great insulation effect and improves the high-temperature performance of the material. The insight into the wear characteristics of TiC particles distribution provides the basis for a wide range of TiC/Ni applications. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Friction and Wear on the Atomic Scale)
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