Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Macroscopic Tribological Testing of Alkanethiol Self-assembled Monolayers (SAMs): Pin-on-disk Tribometry with Elastomeric Sliding Contacts

  • Original Paper
  • Published:
Tribology Letters Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

We demonstrate that the frictional properties of alkanethiol self-assembled monolayers (SAMs) with various surface-chemical and structural features can be investigated on a macroscopic scale by employing an elastomer as the sliding partner in pin-on-disk tribometry. The mild contact conditions at the elastomeric tribological interface allow the SAM films to remain virtually intact despite the tribological stress. Sliding contact between SAMs and elastomers over the speed range available from an ordinary tribometer in a liquid environment induced a broad range of lubrication mechanisms, ranging from boundary to fluid-film lubrication regimes. Thus, the impact of both the chemical and structural characteristics of SAMs on the formation of fluid films and interfacial friction forces could be probed in the absence of wear processes. Given the large SAM “toolbox” that is readily available for the modification of surface-chemical characteristics, this approach provides an opportunity to investigate the influence of surface chemistry on the frictional properties of elastomeric tribological contacts.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3
Fig. 4
Fig. 5
Fig. 6
Fig. 7
Fig. 8

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  1. Carpick, R.W., Salmeron, M.: Scratching the surface: fundamental investigations of tribology with atomic force microscopy. Chem. Rev. 97(4), 1163–1194 (1997)

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  2. Leggett, G.J., Brewerb, N.J., Chonga, K.S.L.: Friction force microscopy: towards quantitative analysis of molecular organisation with nanometre spatial resolution. Phys. Chem. Chem. Phys. 7, 1107–1120 (2007)

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  3. Xiao, X., Hu, J., Charych, D.H., Salmeron, M.: Chain length dependence of the frictional properties of alkylsilane molecules self-assembled on mica studied by atomic force microscopy. Langmuir 12, 235–237 (1996)

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  4. Lio, A., Charych, D.H., Salmeron, M.: Comparative atomic force microscopy study of the chain length dependence of frictional properties of alkanethiols on gold and alkylsilanes on mica. J. Phys. Chem. B 101, 3800–3805 (1997)

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  5. Wong, S.-S., Takano, H., Porter, M.D.: Mapping orientation differences of terminal functional groups by friction force microscopy. Anal. Chem. 70, 5209–5212 (1998)

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  6. Lee, S., Shon, Y.-S., Colorado, R. Jr., Guenard, R.L., Lee, T.R., Perry, S.S.: The influence of packing densities and surface order on the frictional properties of alkanethiol self-assembled monolayers (SAMs) on gold: a comparison of SAMs derived from normal and spiroalkanedithiols. Langmuir 16, 2220–2224 (2000)

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  7. van der Vegte, E.W., Subbotin, A., Hadziioannou, G.: Nanotribological properties of unsymmetrical n-dialkyl sulfide monolayers on gold: effect of chain length on adhesion, friction, and imaging. Langmuir 16, 3249–3256 (2000)

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  8. Beake, B.D., Leggett, G.J.: Variation of frictional forces in air with the composition of heterogeneous organic surfaces. Langmuir 16, 735–739 (2000)

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  9. Brewer, N.J., Beake, B.D., Leggett, G.J.: Friction force microscopy of self-assembled monolayers: influence of adsorbate alkayl chain length, terminal group chemistry, and scan velocity. Langmuir 17, 1970–1974 (2001)

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  10. Frisbie, C.D., Rozsnyai, L.F., Noy, A., Wrighton, M.S., Lieber, C.M.: Functional group imaging by chemical force microscopy. Science 265, 2071–2074 (1994)

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  11. Sinniah, S.K., Steel, A.B., Miller, C.J., Reutt-Robey, J.E.: Solvent exclusion and chemical contrasts in scanning force microscopy. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 118, 8925–8931 (1996)

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  12. Vezenov, D.V., Noy, A., Rozsnyai, L.F., Lieber, C.M.: Force titration and ionization state sensitive imaging of functional groups in aqueous solution by chemical force microscopy. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 119, 2006–2015 (1997)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  13. Noy, A., Vezenov, D.V., Lieber, C.M.: Chemical force microscopy. Annu. Rev. Mater. Sci. 27, 381–421 (1997)

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  14. Kim, H.I., Koini, T., Lee, T.R., Perry, S.S.: Systematic studies of the frictional properties of fluorinated monolayers with atomic force microscopy: comparison of CF3- and CH3-terminated films. Langmuir 13, 7192–7196 (1997)

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  15. Kim H.I., Graupe, M., Oloba, O., Koini, T., Imaduddin, S., Lee, T.R., Perry, S.S.: Molecularly specific studies of the frictional properties of monolayer films: a systematic comparison of CF3-, (CH3)2CH-, and CH3-terminated films. Langmuir 15, 3179–3185 (1999)

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  16. Lee, S., Puck, A., Graupe, M., Colorado, R. Jr., Shon, Y.-S., Lee, T.R., Perry, S.S.: Structure, wettability, and frictional properties of phenyl-terminated self-assembled monolayers on gold. Langmuir 17, 7364–7370 (2001)

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  17. Clear, S.C., Nealey, P.F.: Chemical force microscopy study of adhesion and friction between surfaces functionalized with self-assembled monolayers and immersed in solvents. J. Colloid Interface Sci. 213, 238–250 (1999)

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  18. Clear, S.C., Nealey, P.F.: Lateral force microscopy study of the frictional behavior of self-assembled monolayers of octadecyltrichlorosilane on silicon/silicon dioxide immersed in n-alcohols. Langmuir 17, 720–732 (2001)

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  19. Ren, S., Yang, S., Zhao, Y., Zhou, J., Xu, T., Liu, W.: Friction and wear studies of octadecyltrichlorosilane SAM on silicon. Tribol. Lett. 13, 233–239 (2002)

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  20. Nakano, M., Ishida, T., Numata, T., Ando, Y., Sasaki, S.: Alkyl chain length effect on tribological behavior of alkanethiol self-assembled monolayers on Au. Jpn. J. Appl. Phys. 42, 4734–4738 (2003)

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  21. Nakano, M., Ishida, T., Numata, T., Ando, Y., Sasaki, S.: Tribological behavior of terphenyl self-assembled monolayer studied by a pin-on-plate method and friction force microscopy. Jpn. J. Appl. Phys. 43, 4619–4623 (2004)

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  22. Sung, I.H., Kim, D.-E.: Surface damage characteristics of self-assembled monolayers of alkanethiols on metal surfaces. Tribol. Lett. 17, 835–844 (2004)

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  23. Ishida, H., Koga, T., Morita, M., Otsuka, H., Takahara, A.: Macro- and nanotribological properties of organosilane monolayers prepared by a chemical vapor adsorption method on silicon substrates. Tribol. Lett. 19, 3–8 (2005)

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  24. Nicholas, A. Jr., Street, S.C.: Spectroscopic analysis of the tribological behavior of a model boundary layer lubricant. Analyst 126, 1269–1273 (2001)

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  25. Hardy, W.B., Bircumshaw, I.: Boundary lubrication-plane surfaces and the limitations of Amonton's law. Proc. R. Soc. (Lond.) A 108, 1–27 (1925)

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  26. Tabor, D.: Mechanism of boundary lubrication. Proc. R. Soc. Ser. A 212, 498–505 (1952)

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  27. Levine, O., Zisman, W.A.: Physical properties of monolayers adsorbed at the solid-air interface. I. Friction and wettability of aliphatic polar compounds and effect of halogenation. J. Phys. Chem. 61, 1068–1077 (1957)

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  28. Levine, O., Zisman, W.A.: Physical properties of monolayers adsorbed at the solid-air interface. II. Mechanical durability of aliphatic polar compounds and effect of halogenation. J. Phys. Chem. 61, 1188–1196 (1957)

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  29. Mate, C.M., McClelland, G.M., Erlandsson, R., Chiang, S.: Atomic-scale friction of a tungsten tip on a graphite surface. Phys. Rev. Lett. 59, 1942–1945 (1987)

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  30. Carpick, R.W., Agrait, N., Ogletree, D.F., Salmeron, M.: Measurement of interfacial shear (friction) with an ultrahigh vacuum atomic force microscope. J. Vac. Sci. Technol. B 14, 1289-1295 (1996)

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  31. Brown, H.R.: Chain pullout and mobility effects in friction and lubrication. Science 263, 1411–1413 (1994)

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  32. Greenwood, J.A., Minshall, H., Tabor, D.: Hysterersis losses in rolling and sliding friction. Proc. R. Soc. Ser. A 259, 480–507 (1961)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  33. Schallamach, A.: How does rubber slide? Wear 17, 301–312 (1971)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  34. Lee, S., Spencer, N.D.: Aqueous lubrication of polymers: influence of surface chemical modification. Tribol. Int. 38, 922–930 (2005)

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  35. Lee, S., Iten, R., Müller, M., Spencer, N.D.: Influence of molecular architecture on the adsorption of poly(ethylene oxide)-poly(propylene oxide)-poly(ethylene oxide) (PEO-PPO-PEO) on PDMS surfaces and implications for aqueous lubrication. Macromolecules 37, 8349–8356 (2004)

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  36. de Vincente, J., Strokes, J.R., Spikes, H.A.: Lubrication properties of non-absorbing polymer solutions in soft-elastohydrodynamic (EHD) contacts. Tribol. Int. 38, 515–526 (2005)

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  37. Roberts, A.D., Tabor, D.: The extrusion of liquids between highly elastic solids. Proc. R. Soc. Lond. A 325, 323–345 (1971)

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  38. Moore, D.F.: The elastohydrodynamic transition speed for spheres sliding on lubricated rubber. Wear 35, 159–170 (1975)

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  39. Medley, J.B., Strong A.B., Pilliar, R.M., Wong, E.W.: The breakdown of fluid film lubrication in elastic-isoviscous point contacts. Wear 63, 25–40 (1980)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  40. Richards, S.C., Roberts, A.D.: Boundary lubrication of rubber by aqueous surfactant. J. Phys. D 25, A76–A80 (1992)

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  41. Dowson, D., Jin, Z.M.: Microelastohydrodynamic lubrication of low-elastic-modulus solids on rigid substrates. J. Phys. D 25, A116–A123 (1992)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  42. Hamrock, B.J., Dowson, D.: Minimum film thickness in elliptical contacts for different regimes of fluid-film lubrication. Proceedings of the 5th Leeds-Lyon Symposium on Tribology, pp. 22–27. Mech. Eng. Publ. Bury St. Edmunds, Suffolk (1979)

  43. Esfahanian, M., Hamrock, B.J.: Fluid-film lubrication regimes revisited. Tribol. Trans. 34, 628–632 (1991)

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  44. Marti, A., Hähner, G., Spencer, N.D.: Sensitivity of frictional forces to pH on a nanometer scale: a lateral force microscopy study. Langmuir 11, 4632–4635 (1995)

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  45. Nuzzo, R.G., Dubois, L.H., Allara, D.L.: Fundamental studies of microscopic wetting on organic surfaces. 1. Formation and structural characterization of a self-consistent series of polyfunctional organic monolayers. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 112, 558–569 (1990)

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  46. Nuzzo, R.G., Fusco, F.A., Allara, D.L.: Spontaneously organized molecular assemblies. 3. Preparation and properties of solution adsorbed monolayers of organic disulfides on gold surfaces. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 109, 2358–2368 (1987)

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  47. Bensebaa, F., Voicu, R., Huron, L., Ellis, T.H.: Kinetics of formation of long-chain n-alkanethiolate monolayers on polycrystalline gold. Langmuir 13, 5335–5340 (1997)

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  48. Truong, K.D., Rowntree, P.A.: Formation of self-assembled butanethiol monolayers of Au substrate: spectroscopic evidence for highly ordered island formation in sub-monolayer films. J. Phys. Chem. 100, 19917–19926 (1996)

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  49. Hutchings, I.M.: Ch.4 lubricants and lubrication In: Tribology; Friction and Wear of Engineering Materials. Edward Arnold (1992)

  50. Barrena, E., Kopta, S., Ogletree, D.F., Charych, D.H., Salmeron, M.: Relationship between friction and molecular structure: alkylsilane lubricant films under pressure. Phys. Rev. Lett. 82, 2880–2883 (1999)

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  51. Weihs, T.P., Nawaz, Z., Jarvis, S.P., Pethica, J.B.: Limits of imaging resolution for atomic force microscopy of molecules. Appl. Phys. Lett. 59, 3536–3538 (1991)

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Laboratory for Surface Science and Technology, Department of Materials, ETH Zurich, Wolfgang-Pauli-Strasse 10, CH-8093, Zurich, Switzerland

    Seunghwan Lee, Raphael Heeb, Nagaiyanallur V. Venkataraman & Nicholas D. Spencer

Authors
  1. Seunghwan Lee
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Raphael Heeb
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Nagaiyanallur V. Venkataraman
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Nicholas D. Spencer
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Nicholas D. Spencer.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Lee, S., Heeb, R., Venkataraman, N.V. et al. Macroscopic Tribological Testing of Alkanethiol Self-assembled Monolayers (SAMs): Pin-on-disk Tribometry with Elastomeric Sliding Contacts. Tribol Lett 28, 229–239 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11249-007-9266-1

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11249-007-9266-1

Keywords

Search

Navigation