Work

Amorphous CaSO4 nanocrystal deposits for friction and wear reduction at silicon interfaces

Year: 2025

Type: article

Abstract: When an object is placed on a surface, friction and wear cause uncertainty in its exact position, and thus challenge precision manufacturing. Here, we explore the development of a sacrificial nanocrystal deposit that can suppress friction and wear. Amorphous CaSO 4 nanocrystals are deposited through salt solution droplet deposition followed by evaporation. During droplet drying, a precursor film of the aqueous CaSO 4 solution spreads onto a hydrophilic silicon wafer, thus nucleating evenly spread unfaceted amorphous nanocrystals of CaSO 4 on the wafer surface. We used atomic force microscopy to study the extent, topography, and friction and wear behavior of the deposited nanocrystals. We find that the sacrificial layer of nanocrystals is easy to apply and remove, spreads over large (few cm) areas with a constant thickness of about 8 nm, and has favorable friction and wear behavior.

Source: Wear

DOI: 10.1016/j.wear.2025.206457

Authors: Tijn Vernooij, H. Tunç Çiftçi, Noushine Shahidzadeh, Bart Weber

Institutions: Advanced Research Center for Nanolithography (Netherlands), Institute for Theoretical Physics Amsterdam, Institute of Physics, University of Amsterdam, Van der Waals-Zeeman Institute

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: $5,394

Funders: Rijksuniversiteit Groningen, Universiteit van Amsterdam, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Nederlandse Organisatie voor Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek