The hydration lubrication paradigm, whereby hydration layers are both strongly held by the charges they surround, and so can support large pressures without being squeezed out, and at the same time remain very rapidly relaxing and so have a fluid response to shear, provides a framework for understanding, controlling, and designing very efficient boundary lubrication systems in aqueous and biological media. This review discusses the properties of confined water, which—unlike organic solvents—r...

The mechanisms of energy dissipation are discussed in this paper by reviewing the models and research in atomic-scale friction. The study is undertaken to answer a fundamental question in the study of friction: How is frictional work dissipated, particularly in cases where material damage and wear are not involved. The initiation of energy dissipation, the role of structural commensurability, and the estimation of the interfacial shear strength have been examined in detail by introducing the ...

Computer simulations have been an integral part of the technical development process for a long time now. Industrial tribology is one of the last fields in which computer simulations have, until now, played no significant role. This is primarily due to the fact that investigating tribological phenomena requires considering all spatial scales from the macroscopic shape of the contact system down to the micro-scales. In the present paper, we give an overview of the previous work on the so-calle...

We propose a new path for preparing nanostructured carbon films (NCFs) by using electron cyclotron resonance (ECR) plasma sputtering with ion–electron hybrid irradiation for controlling the frictional behavior. The frictional behavior of the NCF was measured by using a pin-on-disk tribometer with a nanoprobe displacement sensor, and the transition curves of the friction coefficient and microdisplacement of the NCFs were examined. The friction mechanism was discussed by transmission electron m...

Adhesive and corrosive wear at microscales are quantitatively distinguished in lifetime tests of resonant bulk-fabricated silicon microelectromechanical systems (MEMS). By analyzing the oscillation decay characteristics in different vapor environments, we find that wear is dominated by asperity adhesion during the initial stages of rubbing in dry N₂ or O₂/N₂ mixtures; in these situations the transient wear rate is inversely proportional to the wear depth. But ...

Using an atomic force microscope, the running-in process of a single crystalline silicon wafer coated with native oxide layer (Si–SiO_x) against a SiO₂ microsphere was investigated under various normal loads and displacement amplitudes in ambient air. As the number of sliding cycles increased, both the friction force F_t of the Si–SiO_x/SiO₂ pair and the wear rate of the silicon surface showed sharp drops during the init...

Mechanical failure of integrated circuits and micro-electro-mechanical systems (MEMS) demands new understanding of friction in small devices. In present research, we demonstrated an in situ approach to measure sliding friction of a patterned surface composing multi-materials and structures. The effects of materials and surface morphology on friction and electrical contact resistance were investigated. The material transfer at the interface of dissimilar materials was found to play domi...