- Title
- Control of nanoscale friction on gold in an ionic liquid by a potential-dependent ionic lubricant layer
- Creator
- Sweeney, James; Hausen, Florian; Hayes, Robert; Webber, Grant B.; Endres, Frank; Rutland, Mark W.; Bennewitz, Roland; Atkin, Rob
- Relation
- Physical Review Letters Vol. 109, Issue 15
- Publisher Link
- http://dx.doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.109.155502
- Publisher
- American Physical Society
- Resource Type
- journal article
- Date
- 2012
- Description
- The lubricating properties of an ionic liquid on gold surfaces can be controlled through application of an electric potential to the sliding contact. A nanotribology approach has been used to study the frictional behavior of 1-butyl-1-methylpyrrolidinium tris(pentafluoroethyl) trifluorophosphate ([Py₁,₄]FAP) confined between silica colloid probes or sharp silica tips and a Au(111) substrate using atomic force microscopy. Friction forces vary with potential because the composition of a confined ion layer between the two surfaces changes from cation-enriched (at negative potentials) to anion-enriched (at positive potentials). This offers a new approach to tuning frictional forces reversibly at the molecular level without changing the substrates, employing a self-replenishing boundary lubricant of low vapor pressure.
- Subject
- friction; gold; ionic liquids; nanotribology; surfaces
- Identifier
- http://hdl.handle.net/1959.13/1038940
- Identifier
- uon:13600
- Identifier
- ISSN:0031-9007
- Language
- eng
- Full Text
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