Abstract
The presence of a capillary bridge between solid surfaces is ubiquitous under ambient conditions. Usually, it leads to a continuous decrease of friction as a function of bridge height. Here, using molecular dynamics we show that for a capillary bridge with a small radius confined between two hydrophilic elastic solid surfaces, the friction oscillates greatly when decreasing the bridge height. The underlying mechanism is revealed to be a periodic ordered-disordered transition at the liquid–solid interfaces. This transition is caused by the balance between the surface tension of the liquid–vapor interface and the elasticity of the surface. This balance introduces a critical size below which the friction oscillates. Based on the mechanism revealed, a parameter-free analytical model for the oscillating friction was derived and found to be in excellent agreement with the simulation results. Our results describe an interesting frictional phenomenon at the nanoscale, which is most prominent for layered materials.
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Acknowledgements
M.M. wishes to acknowledge the financial support by Thousand Young Talents Program and the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Nos. 11632009 and 11772168).
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Shuai WU. He received his bachelor degree in civil engineering in 2012 from Nanchang University, Nanchang, China. Then, he studied for his doctorate in the Department of Engineering Mechanics at Tsinghua University. His research interests include nano/micro mechanics and super hydrophobicity.
Ming MA. He received his Ph.D. degree in engineering mechanics from Tsinghua University, China, in 2011. He joined the State Key Laboratory of Tribology at Tsinghua University since 2016. His current position is an associate professor. His research areas cover nanotribology, nanofluidics, superlubricity, and diffusion on surfaces or under confinement.
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Wu, S., He, Y., Zheng, Q. et al. Oscillating friction of nanoscale capillary bridge. Friction 10, 200–208 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40544-020-0396-x
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s40544-020-0396-x