Related Experiment Video
Updated: Apr 28, 2026
04:57
Residue-Free Fabrication of van der Waals Heterostructures of Two-Dimensional Materials
Published on: July 18, 2025
1.2K
Ultrahigh interlayer friction in multiwalled boron nitride nanotubes
A Niguès1, A Siria1, P Vincent1
1Institut Lumière Matière, UMR5306 Université Lyon 1-CNRS, 69622 Villeurbanne cedex, France.
Nature Materials
|June 2, 2014
Summary
Boron nitride nanotubes exhibit high energy dissipation due to interlayer friction, unlike carbon nanotubes. This suggests boron nitride nanotube membranes could be effective shock absorbers.
Area of Science:
- Nanotechnology
- Materials Science
- Tribology
Background:
- Macroscopic friction laws (Amontons-Coulomb) differ significantly from nanoscale behaviors.
- Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM) enables nanoscale mechanical property investigations.
Purpose of the Study:
- Compare nanoscale friction and mechanical response of carbon nanotubes (CNTs) and boron nitride nanotubes (BNNTs).
- Investigate interlayer sliding and fracture mechanics in multiwalled nanotubes.
Main Methods:
- Utilized a 'Christmas cracker' system with a quartz-tuning-fork-based AFM and nanomanipulator.
- Analyzed interlayer friction and viscous dissipation during nanotube layer separation.
Main Results:
- Insulating BNNTs showed ultrahigh viscous-like interlayer friction proportional to contact area.
- Semimetallic CNTs exhibited negligible sliding friction within experimental limits.
- Difference attributed to ionic character and charge localization in BNNTs.
Conclusions:
- BNNTs demonstrate significant energy dissipation, suggesting potential for shock-absorbing applications.
- Nanoscale friction mechanisms in BNNTs differ fundamentally from CNTs due to electronic structure.
