Chemical Research in Chinese Universities ›› 2022, Vol. 38 ›› Issue (3): 769-773.doi: 10.1007/s40242-022-2050-9

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Friction of MoO3 Nanoflakes on Graphite Surface with an Ace-like Intercalation Layer

WEI Dawei1,2, ZHANG Guangjie2, LU Xiaoquan3, and QIU Xiaohui2,4   

  1. 1. Tianjin Key Laboratory of Molecular Optoelectronic, Department of Chemistry, School of Science, Tianjin University, Tianjin 300072, P. R. China;
    2. CAS Key Laboratory of Standardization and Measurement for Nanotechnology, CAS Center for Excellence in Nanoscience, National Center for Nanoscience and Technology, Beijing 100190, P. R. China;
    3. Key Laboratory of Bioelectrochemistry &Environmental Analysis of Gansu Province, College of Chemistry &Chemical Engineering, Northwest Normal University, Lanzhou 730070, P. R. China;
    4. University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, P. R. China
  • Received:2022-02-10 Revised:2022-03-19 Online:2022-06-01 Published:2022-05-26
  • Contact: ZHANG Guangjie, LU Xiaoquan, QIU Xiaohui E-mail:zhanggj@nanoctr.cn;luxq@nwnu.edu.cn;xhqiu@nanoctr.cn
  • Supported by:
    This work was supported by the Project of the Ministry of Science and Technology of China(No.2017YFA0205000), the National Natural Science Foundation of China(Nos.51802053, 21790353, 21721002) and the Strategic Priority Research Program of Chinese Academy of Sciences(No.XDB36000000).

Abstract: How water layer adsorbed on solid surface under ambient conditions affects the interfacial friction is a fundamental question for understanding the friction and lubrication phenomena in practical system. We investigate the formation of ice-like(IL) water layers on the hydrophobic surface of graphite with partially covered MoO3 nanoflakes(NFs) using atomic force microscopy(AFM) based techniques. The IL water layers are found surrounding the MoO3 NFs and also intercalated at the MoO3/graphite interface, as proved by thickness measurements as well as local adhesion force and surface potential mappings. AFM manipulations carried out on MoO3 NFs on graphite show that the presence of the IL water layers increases the frictional resistance of the interface. Comparing the results on continuous and discontinuous IL water layers, we can identify the different sliding interfaces in the two scenarios. The increased friction for MoO3 NFs sliding on graphite with an intercalated water layer is attributed to the energy dissipation originated from the metastable nature of the IL layers.

Key words: Friction, Ice-like water, MoO3, Graphite