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Updated: Jan 20, 2026

Layer-by-layer Synthesis and Transfer of Freestanding Conjugated Microporous Polymer Nanomembranes
Published on: December 15, 2015
Single layer graphene induces load-bearing molecular layering at the hexadecane-steel interface
1INM-Leibniz Institute for New Materials, Campus D2 2, D-66123 Saarbrücken, Germany. Physics Department, Saarland University, D-66123 Saarbrücken, Germany.
Abstract:
The influence of a single layer graphene on the interface between a polished steel surface and the model lubricant hexadecane is explored by high-resolution force microscopy. Nanometer-scale friction is reduced by a factor of three on graphene compared to the steel substrate, with an ordered layer of hexadecane adsorbed on the graphene. Graphene furthermore induces a molecular ordering in the confined lubricant with an average range of 4-5 layers and with a strongly increased load-bearing capacity compared to the lubricant on the bare steel substrate.
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