Impact Factor:

42.6

DOI number:

10.1038/s41563-021-01091-3

Journal:

Nature Materials

Abstract:

The field of nanotribology has long suffered from the inability to directly observe what takes place at a sliding interface. Although techniques based on atomic force microscopy have identified many friction phenomena at the nanoscale, many interpretative pitfalls still result from the indirect or ex situ characterization of contacting surfaces. Here we combined in situ high-resolution transmission electron microscopy and atomic force microscopy measurements to provide direct real-time observations of atomic-scale interfacial structure during frictional processes and discovered the formation of a loosely packed interfacial layer between two metallic asperities that enabled a low friction under tensile stress. This finding is corroborated by molecular dynamic simulations. The loosely packed interfacial layer became an ordered layer at equilibrium distances under compressive stress, which led to a transition from a low-friction to a dissipative high-friction motion. This work directly unveils a unique role of atomic diffusion in the friction of metallic contacts.

Co-author:

Li Zhong

First Author:

Yang He, Dingshun She, Zhenyu Liu, Xiang Wang

Indexed by:

Journal paper

Correspondence Author:

Chongmin Wang, Guofeng Wang, Scott X. Mao

Discipline:

Engineering

Document Type:

J

Volume:

21

Issue:

2

Page Number:

173-180

Translation or Not:

no

Date of Publication:

2021-10-07

Included Journals:

SCI

Links to published journals:

https://doi.org/10.1038/s41563-021-01091-3