Investigating the Effect of Interface Structure on Friction at the Nanoscale

Objective

The physical phenomenon of friction is the main source of energy “loss” in a number of technical applications and industrial processes. Despite this fact, which holds significant economic importance, a complete understanding of fundamental physical principles governing frictional processes is still lacking. Considering that an ability to predict and control macroscopic friction depends on accurate investigations of friction at the nanometer scale, the research area of nanotribology –the science of friction, lubrication and wear at the nanoscale– has been established about 25 years ago. The main scientific tool that spearheaded developments in this field, the friction force microscope (FFM), provided researchers with a great deal of insight regarding frictional properties of nanoscale “single-asperity contacts” on different substrates as a function of various experimental parameters. Despite this success, many open questions remain regarding friction at the nanoscale, due to inherent limitations of the single-asperity FFM technique in terms of contact area, choice of materials, and poorly-characterized interface structures. Being motivated by recent developments in the field, we propose in this grant application to investigate the frictional properties of structurally well-defined, crystalline gold “nanoislands” on a number of substrates such as graphite and graphene using commercially available atomic force microscopes, as a function of island size, shape and crystallographic direction of motion. Additionally, we propose to use nanoislands made from bulk metallic glass (BMG) in amorphous and crystalline form, to test the influence of interface crystallinity on friction at the nanoscale. It is expected that the 4-year research plan described in this proposal will contribute significantly to the understanding of structure-friction relationships at the nanoscale, bringing the scientific community closer to a complete physical picture of the fundamentals of friction.

Fields of science (EuroSciVoc)

CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.

• engineering and technology mechanical engineering tribology lubrication
• engineering and technology nanotechnology nano-materials two-dimensional nanostructures graphene
• natural sciences physical sciences optics microscopy
• engineering and technology materials engineering amorphous solids amorphous metals

Programme(s)

Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.

• FP7-PEOPLE - Specific programme "People" implementing the Seventh Framework Programme of the European Community for research, technological development and demonstration activities (2007 to 2013)

Topic(s)

Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.

• FP7-PEOPLE-2012-CIG - Marie-Curie Action: "Career Integration Grants"

Call for proposal

Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.

FP7-PEOPLE-2012-CIG
See other projects for this call

Funding Scheme

Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.

MC-CIG - Support for training and career development of researcher (CIG)

Coordinator