Abstract
Atomistic mechanisms of frictional energy dissipation have attracted significant attention. However, the dynamics of phonon excitation and dissipation remain elusive for many friction processes. Through systematic fast Fourier transform analyses of the frictional signals as a silicon tip sliding over a graphite surface at different angles and velocities, we experimentally demonstrate that friction mainly excites non-equilibrium phonons at the washboard frequency and its harmonics. Using molecular dynamics simulations, we further disclose the phononic origin of structural lubrication, i.e., the drastic reduction of friction force as the contact angle between two commensurate surfaces changes. In commensurate contacting states, friction excites a large amount of phonons at the washboard frequency and many orders of its harmonics that perfectly match each other in the sliding tip and substrate, while for incommensurate cases, only limited phonons are generated at mismatched washboard frequencies and few low order harmonics in the tip and substrate.
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Acknowledgements
The authors thank the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant Nos. 52035003, 52065037, 51575104, and 52175161), the China Postdoctoral Science Foundation (Grant No. 2021MD703810), the Postdoctoral Science Foundation of Gansu Academy of Sciences (Grant No. BSH202101), and the Southeast University “Zhongying Young Scholars” Project for financial support.
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Yun Dong. He received his M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in mechanical engineering from Guangxi University and Southeast University, China, in 2010 and 2020, respectively. He has worked in Lanzhou University of Technology since 2010 as a lecture, postdoctoral fellow and associate professor. His research areas include the structural lubrication and phononic friction.
Yongkang Wang. He received his bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from China University of Mining and Technology, Xuzhou, China, in 2016. After then, he is a Ph.D. student in mechanical engineering at Southeast University, Nanjing, China. His research interests include solid—liquid interface and nonlinear spectroscopy.
Zaoqi Duan. He received his Ph.D. degree in mechanical engineering of Southeast University, China, in 2021. After that, he has worked in Southeast University as a postdoctoral fellow. His research areas include nanotribology and active control friction.
Shuyu Huang. She received her bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from Southeast Jiaotong University, China, in 2017. After then, she is a Ph.D. student in the Jiangsu Key Laboratory for Design and Manufacture of Micro-Nano Biomedical Instruments, School of Mechanical Engineering, Southeast University, China. Her main research topic includes atomic sliding friction of two-dimensional layered materials and dynamics of frictional energy dissipation.
Yi Tao. He received his bachelor’s and Ph.D. degrees in mechanical engineering from Southeast University, China, in 2014 and 2021, respectively. He has continued his work in Southeast University since 2022 as a postdoc. His research interests include phononic friction and phonon transport.
Xi Lu. He received his M.S. degree in mechanical engineering from Shanghai Jiaotong University, China, in 1996, and received his Ph.D. degree in mechanical engineering from Southeast University, China, in 2006. He joined the School of Mechanical Engineering, Southeast University from 1996. His current position is an associate professor. His research areas cover computational structure dynamics and optimization design.
Yan Zhang. She received her M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in Southeast University, China, in 2006 and 2013, respectively. She has worked in Southeast University since 1999 as a lecture and associate professor. Her research interests include the origin of friction and active control friction.
Yajing Kan. He received his B.S. and Ph.D. degrees in Southeast University, China, in 2007 and 2015, respectively. He has worked in Southeast University since 2015 as a lecture and associate professor. His research interests include the intermolecular and surface forces, interfacial structures, and bio-adhesion mechanisms.
Zhiyong Wei. He received his B.S. degree in mechanical engineering from Huazhong Agricultural University, China, in 2007, and Ph.D. degree in mechanical engineering from Southeast University, China, in 2014. He had a two-year visiting experience at the University of California, Berkeley, USA, from 2010 to 2012 supported by the China Scholarship Council (CSC) Joint Training Program. He joined the School of Mechanical Engineering, Southeast University in 2014. His current position is an associate professor. His research interests include nanotribology, phonon transport, and the areas related to friction and heat.
Deyu Li. He received his B.S., M.S. and Ph.D. degrees from University of Science and Technology of China, Tsinghua University, China, and University of California, Berkeley, USA, respectively. He is currently a professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at Vanderbilt University, USA. His research interests include phonon transport, microfluidics and nanofluidics, and atomic scale friction.
Yunfei Chen. He received his M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in mechanical engineering from Hefei Polytechnic University and Southeast University, China, in 1988 and 1991, respectively. He has worked in Southeast University since 1991 as a lecture, associate professor, and full professor. His research interests include the origin of friction, active control friction, and the areas related with friction such as MEMS, superfluidics, and nanosensors.
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Dong, Y., Wang, Y., Duan, Z. et al. Phononic origin of structural lubrication. Friction 11, 966–976 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40544-022-0636-3
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s40544-022-0636-3