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Updated: May 8, 2026

Preparation and Friction Force Microscopy Measurements of Immiscible, Opposing Polymer Brushes
Published on: December 24, 2014
Puckering stick-slip friction induced by a sliding nanoscale contact
M V Rastei1, B Heinrich, J L Gallani
1Institut de Physique et Chimie des Matériaux de Strasbourg, CNRS, Université de Strasbourg, F-67034 Strasbourg, France.
Abstract:
An atomic force microscope reveals that the sliding of a nanotip on a graphite surface occurs through a nanoscale stick-slip mechanism. The angle between the sliding direction and a stiff crystallographic axis determines the periodicity of the slip events defining domains of various friction properties. The experimental data are interpreted using the reaction rate theory, with the energy barrier driven by a local deformation of the surface and a thermally activated relaxation.
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