Friction anisotropy dependence on lattice orientation of graphene

Abstract

The observation of friction anisotropy on graphene by friction measurement at atomic scale has been reported in this paper. Atomic-scale friction measurement revealed friction anisotropy with a periodicity of 60, which is consistent with the hexagonal periodicity of the graphene. Both experiments and theory show that the value of the friction force is related to the graphene lattice orientation, and the friction force along armchair orientation is also larger than the one along zigzag orientation. These results will play a critical role in the use of graphene to manufacture nanoscale devices. © 2014 Science China Press and Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg.