CPM Seminar

Stick-slip friction from atoms to microscopic structures

Roland Bennewitz

INM - Leibniz Institute for New Materials

Friction depends critically on the interactions across the interface in a sliding contact. Therefore, even molecular films have a significant influence on friction as long as they withstand the stress in the contact. I will discuss a series of recent atomic friction experiments on epitaxially grown graphene on SiC, on alkanethiol films on a gold surface, and on electrochemically modified gold surfaces.

In a second part I will talk about experiments on adhesion and friction using micro-structured elastomer surfaces. Splitting a macroscopic contact area into microscopic pieces allows for better attachment, however at the cost of contact area.