"Friction of low-dimensional nanomaterial systems" by Wanlin GUO, Jun YIN et al.

Article Title

Friction of low-dimensional nanomaterial systems

Authors

Wanlin GUO, Key Laboratory for Intelligent Nano Materials and Devices of the Ministry of Education, State Key Laboratory of Mechanics and Control of Mechanical Structures, and Institute of Nanoscience, Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics, 29 Yudao Street, Nanjing 210016, China
Jun YIN, Key Laboratory for Intelligent Nano Materials and Devices of the Ministry of Education, State Key Laboratory of Mechanics and Control of Mechanical Structures, and Institute of Nanoscience, Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics, 29 Yudao Street, Nanjing 210016, China
Hu QIU, Key Laboratory for Intelligent Nano Materials and Devices of the Ministry of Education, State Key Laboratory of Mechanics and Control of Mechanical Structures, and Institute of Nanoscience, Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics, 29 Yudao Street, Nanjing 210016, China
Yufeng GUO, Key Laboratory for Intelligent Nano Materials and Devices of the Ministry of Education, State Key Laboratory of Mechanics and Control of Mechanical Structures, and Institute of Nanoscience, Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics, 29 Yudao Street, Nanjing 210016, China
Hongrong WU, Key Laboratory for Intelligent Nano Materials and Devices of the Ministry of Education, State Key Laboratory of Mechanics and Control of Mechanical Structures, and Institute of Nanoscience, Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics, 29 Yudao Street, Nanjing 210016, China
Minmin XUE, Key Laboratory for Intelligent Nano Materials and Devices of the Ministry of Education, State Key Laboratory of Mechanics and Control of Mechanical Structures, and Institute of Nanoscience, Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics, 29 Yudao Street, Nanjing 210016, China

Keywords

friction, nanomaterials, two-dimensional materials, nanotubes, nanoparticles, energy dissipation

Abstract

When material dimensions are reduced to the nanoscale, exceptional physical mechanics properties can be obtained that differ significantly from the corresponding bulk materials. Here we review the physical mechanics of the friction of low-dimensional nanomaterials, including zero-dimensional nanoparticles, one- dimensional multiwalled nanotubes and nanowires, and two-dimensional nanomaterials—such as graphene, hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN), and transition-metal dichalcogenides—as well as topological insulators. Nanoparticles between solid surfaces can serve as rolling and sliding lubrication, while the interlayer friction of multiwalled nanotubes can be ultralow or significantly high and sensitive to interwall spacing and chirality matching, as well as the tube materials. The interwall friction can be several orders of magnitude higher in binary polarized h-BN tubes than in carbon nanotubes mainly because of wall buckling. Furthermore, current extensive studies on two-dimensional nanomaterials are comprehensively reviewed herein. In contrast to their bulk materials that serve as traditional dry lubricants (e.g., graphite, bulk h-BN, and MoS₂), large-area high- quality monolayered two-dimensional nanomaterials can serve as single-atom-thick coatings that minimize friction and wear. In addition, by appropriately tuning the surface properties, these materials have shown great promise for creating energy-efficient self-powered electro-opto-magneto-mechanical nanosystems. State-of-the- art experimental and theoretical methods to characterize friction in nanomaterials are also introduced.