Diego Marchetto

Friction and Wear on Single-Layer Epitaxial Graphene in Multi-Asperity Contacts

Friction and wear of single layers of graphene have been studied at the micrometer scale. Epitaxial graphene grown by thermal decomposition on SiC-6H(0001) is found to have an initial friction coefficient of 0.02, significantly lower than graphite under the same experimental conditions. During reciprocal sliding the graphene layer is damaged. The evolving friction coefficient of 0.08 for the carbon-rich interface layer terminating the SiC layer is still lower than that of graphite and five times lower than that of the hydrogen-etched SiC substrate. Micrometer-sized patches within the sliding track retain the low friction coefficient of graphene even after hundred sliding cycles.

The analytical relations between particles and probe trajectories in atomic force microscope nanomanipulation.

Analytical expressions relating the trajectories of spherical nanoparticles pushed by an atomic force microscope tip to the scan pattern of the tip are derived. In the case of a raster scan path, the particles are deflected in a direction defined by the geometries of tip and particles and the spacing b between consecutive scan lines. In the case of a zigzag scan path, the particles are deflected in a range of directions around 90 degrees, also depending on the parameter b. Experimental results on gold nanoparticles manipulated on silicon surfaces in ambient conditions confirm the predictions of our model.

Nanoindentation shape effect: experiments, simulations and modelling

AFM nanoindentation is nowadays commonly used for the study of mechanical properties of materials at the nanoscale. The investigation of surface hardness of a material using AFM means that the probe has to be able to indent the surface, but also to image it. Usually standard indenters are not sharp enough to obtain high-resolution images, but on the other hand measuring the hardness behaviour of a material with a non-standard sharp indenter gives only comparative results affected by a significant deviation from the commonly used hardness scales. In this paper we try to understand how the shape of the indenter affects the hardness measurement, in order to find a relationship between the measured hardness of a material and the corner angle of a pyramidal indenter. To achieve this we performed a full experimental campaign, indenting the same material with three focused ion beam (FIB) nanofabricated probes with a highly altered corner angle. We then compared the results obtained experimentally with those obtained by numerical simulations, using the finite element method (FEM), and by theoretical models, using a general scaling law for nanoindentation available for indenters with a variable size and shape. The comparison between these three approaches (experimental, numerical and theoretical approaches) reveals a good agreement and allowed us to find a theoretical relationship which links the measured hardness value with the shape of the indenter. The same theoretical approach has also been used to fit the hardness experimental results considering the indentation size effect. In this case we compare the measured data, changing the applied load.

Surface passivation by graphene in the lubrication of iron: A comparison with bronze

Abstract It has been recently reported that graphene is able to significantly reduce the friction coefficient of steel-on-steel sliding contacts. The microscopic origin of this behavior has been attributed to the mechanical action of load carrying capacity. However, a recent work highlighted the importance of the chemical action of graphene. According to this work graphene reduces the adhesion of iron interfaces by reducing the surface energy thanks to a passivation effect. The aim of the present work is to clarify the still debated lubricating behavior of graphene flakes. We perform pin-on-disc experiments using liquid dispersed graphene solution as a lubricant. Two different materials, pure iron and bronze are tested against 100Cr6 steel. Raman spectroscopy is used to analyze the surfaces after the friction tests. The results of these tests prove that graphene flakes have a beneficial effect on the friction coefficient. At the same time they show a tendency of graphene to passivate the native iron surfaces that are exposed during sliding as a consequence of wear.

Design and testing of ultrahigh vacuum microtribometer

Abstract In this paper, we present the design of a novel microtribometer operating in ultrahigh vacuum. The force sensor of the tribometer is based on the double leaf cantilever design. To remove noise and mechanical deformation due to temperature oscillation from measured signals, we employ a double laser interferometer and a passive noise reduction system. Depending on the spring constant of the cantilever used, the detection limit of lateral force measurements ranges from a few micronewtons to 1 mN. The tribometer chamber is equipped with an e-beam evaporator for deposition of metallic thin layers. The instrument is also connected to an X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy system. In the remainder of this paper, we present an experiment conducted on thin silver films that involves all of the components mentioned above.