Work

Frictional Dissipation and Scaling Laws at van der Waals Interfaces: The Role of Edge and Corner Elastic Moiré Pinning

Year: 2025

Type: article

Abstract: van der Waals heterogeneous interfaces are promising candidates for the scaling-up of structural superlubricity to meet a wide range of applications. Several factors, however, have been identified that may hinder superlubricity. Elasticity is one such intrinsic factor, where shear induced lattice reconstruction leads to local interfacial pinning, even at clean pristine contacts. This introduces intricate energy dissipation mechanisms that are manifested by unconventional frictional scaling laws. Here, through large-scale atomistic simulations, we reveal that the elastic pinning of incomplete moiré tiles at the corners of polygonal sliders dominates kinetic friction up to contact dimensions of hundreds of nanometers, followed by a crossover to edge, and eventually surface dominated frictional regimes. We further demonstrate that slider shape tailoring and twisting allow to control energy dissipation and its scaling with contact size, thus advancing the quest toward achieving large-scale superlubricity.

Source: ACS Nano

DOI: 10.1021/acsnano.5c04617

Authors: Xiang Gao, Weidong Yan, Wengen Ouyang, Ze Liu, Michael Urbakh, Oded Hod

Institutions: University of Science and Technology of China, Wuhan University, Tel Aviv University

Language: English

Topic: Force Microscopy Techniques and Applications

Subfield: Atomic and Molecular Physics, and Optics

Field: Physics and Astronomy

Domain: Physical Sciences

Open Access status: hybrid

Estimated APC paid: $4,500