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Tuning the Friction of Graphene on Mica by Alcohol Intercalation
Edwin Dollekamp1, Pantelis Bampoulis1, Martin H Siekman1
1Physics of Interfaces and Nanomaterials, MESA+ Institute for Nanotechnology , University of Twente , P.O. Box 217, 7500 AE Enschede , The Netherlands.
Abstract:
The friction of graphene on mica was studied using lateral force microscopy. We observed that intercalation of alcohol molecules significantly increases the friction of graphene, as compared to water. An increase of 1.8, 2.4, and 5.9 times in friction between the atomic force microscopy tip and single-layer graphene was observed for methanol, ethanol, and 2-propanol, respectively. Moreover, the friction of graphene is found to be higher for single-layer graphene than for multilayer graphene. We attribute the increase in friction to the additional vibrational modes of alcohol molecules. The significant variation of the frictional characteristics of graphene at the nanoscale by altering the intercalant could open up applications for the next-generation nanolubricants and nanodevices.
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