Abstract
Two-dimensional (2D) transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDCs) have layered structures with excellent tribological properties. Since the energy difference between hexagonal-molybdenum ditelluride (2H-MoTe2) and distorted octahedral-molybdenum ditelluride (1T’-MoTe2) is very small among the transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDCs), MoTe2 becomes one of the most promising candidates for phase engineering. In our experiment, we found that the friction force and friction coefficient (COF) of 2H-MoTe2 were an order of magnitude smaller than those of 1T’-MoTe2 by the atomic force microscope (AFM) experiments. The friction difference between 1T’-MoTe2 and 2H-MoTe2 was further verified in molecular dynamics (MD) simulations. The density functional theory (DFT) calculations suggest that the friction contrast is related to the difference in sliding energy barrier of the potential energy surface (PES) for a tip sliding across the surface. The PES obtained from the DFT calculation indicates that the maximum energy barrier and the minimum energy path (MEP) energy barrier of 2H-MoTe2 are both smaller than those of 1T’-MoTe2, which means that less energy needs to be dissipated during the sliding process. The difference in energy barrier of the PES could be ascribed to its larger interlayer spacing and weaker Mo–Te interatomic interactions within the layers of 2H-MoTe2 than those of 1T’-MoTe2. The obvious friction difference between 1T’-MoTe2 and 2H-MoTe2 not only provides a new non-destructive means to detect the phase transition by the AFM, but also provides a possibility to tune friction by controlling the phase transition, which has the potential to be applied in extreme environments such as space lubrication.
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This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 52175175) and the Strategic Priority Research Program of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (Grant No. XDC04000000).
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Jianbin LUO. He received his B.E. degree from Northeastern University, China, in 1982, and got his M.E. degree from Xi’an University of Architecture and Technology, China, in 1988. In 1994, he received his Ph.D. degree from Tsinghua University, China, and then joined the faculty of Tsinghua University, China. Prof. LUO has been engaged in the research of thin film lubrication and superlubricity. He is currently an academician of Chinese Academy of Sciences, China, and a Yangtze River Scholar Distinguished Professor of Tsinghua University, China. He was awarded the STLE International Award (2013), the CTI highest achievement award (2013), the Chinese National Technology Progress Prize (2008), the Chinese National Natural Science Prize (2001 and 2018), and the Chinese National Invention. He has made keynote or plenary talks for 30 times on the international conferences.
Xinfeng TAN. He obtained his B.E. degree from Beihang University, China, in 2015, and received his Ph.D. degree in mechanical engineering in 2020 from Tsinghua University, China. He is now working as a research assistant at State Key Laboratory of Tribology in Advanced Equipment, Tsinghua University, China. His research interests include the dynamic friction energy dissipation detection at micro-nano scale as well as the design and improvement of micro-nano tribometer based on the AFM.
Lina ZHANG. She obtained her B.S. degree from Northeastern University, China, in 2019. Currently, she is a Ph.D. candidate in State Key Laboratory of Tribology in Advanced Equipment, Tsinghua University, China. Her research focuses on the friction behavior and mechanism study of 2D materials in nanoscale.
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Zhang, L., Tan, X., Jiao, J. et al. Comparative analysis of frictional behavior and mechanism of molybdenum ditelluride with different structures. Friction 12, 110–119 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40544-023-0738-6
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s40544-023-0738-6