Flexible Superlubricity Unveiled in Sidewinding Motion of Individual Polymeric Chains

DOI
Publisher DOI
Abstract
A combination of low temperature atomic force microcopy and molecular dynamic simulations is used to demonstrate that soft designer molecules realize a sidewinding motion when dragged over a gold surface. Exploiting their longitudinal flexibility, pyrenylene chains are indeed able to lower diffusion energy barriers via on-surface directional locking and molecular strain. The resulting ultralow friction reaches values on the order of tens of pN reported so far only for rigid chains sliding on an incommensurate surface. Therefore, we demonstrate how molecular flexibility can be harnessed to realize complex nanomotion while retaining a superlubric character. This is in contrast with the paradigm guiding the design of most superlubric nanocontacts (mismatched rigid contacting surfaces).
Date Issued
2022
Publication Type
Article
Subject(s)
Language(s)
en
Author(s)
Vilhena, J. G.
Pawlak, Rémy
D’Astolfo, Philipp
Liu, Xunshan
Gnecco, Enrico
Kisiel, Marcin
Glatzel, Thilo
Pérez, Rúben
Baratoff, Alexis
Prampolini, Giacomo
Meyer, Ernst
Additional Credits
Journal
Physical review letters
Publisher
American Physical Society
ISSN
0031-9007
Access(Rights)
open.access
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