We and our partners use cookies to Store and/or access information on a device. We and our partners use data for Personalised ads and content, ad and content measurement, audience insights and product development. An example of data being processed may be a unique identifier stored in a cookie. Some of our partners may process your data as a part of their legitimate business interest without asking for consent. To view the purposes they believe they have legitimate interest for, or to object to this data processing use the vendor list link below. The consent submitted will only be used for data processing originating from this website. If you would like to change your settings or withdraw consent at any time, the link to do so is in our privacy policy accessible from our home page..

Surprising Discovery: Graphene on Platinum Surfaces Seemingly Defies Coulomb’s Law

Surprisingly, the friction between the tip of an atomic force microscope and the Moiré superstructures depends on the speed at which the tip is moved across the surface. Credit: Department of Physics, University of Basel and Scixel

Researchers from Basel and Tel Aviv discovered that friction varies with speed in specific graphene structures on platinum surfaces, defying Coulomb’s law which states that friction is speed-independent in the macro world.

Materials made of single atomic layers are highly valued for their low-friction qualities, useful in reducing friction in hard disks or moving parts of satellites or space telescopes. Graphene, consisting of a single layer of carbon atoms arranged like a honeycomb, is a prime example and is under examination for its potential as a lubricating layer. Earlier studies showed that a graphene ribbon can glide almost friction-free across a gold surface.

In conjunction with the platinum substrate, graphene no longer forms only the hexagonal honeycomb pattern of carbon atoms and instead forms superstructures known as Moiré superlattices. The surface is then no longer completely flat and exhibits a certain degree of roughness.

“If we move the AFM tip across this slightly corrugated surface at low speed, we measure a weak and almost constant frictional force,” explains Professor Ernst Meyer from the Swiss Nanoscience Institute and the Department of Physics at Basel University. “Above a certain threshold, however, the friction then increases with the speed of the AFM tip,” adds first author Dr. Yiming Song. “The larger the Moiré superstructure, the lower the threshold at which the friction becomes speed-dependent.”

The researchers found that there is greater resistance at the ridges of the Moiré superstructures during the movement of the tip. These ridges undergo elastic deformation due to the pushing tip before relaxing again when the pressure is sufficiently high. This effect results in greater frictional forces that increase with the speed of the tip. Simulations and an analytical model confirm the experimental findings obtained by this international team of researchers.