@phdthesis{Soorali Ganeshamurthy2015,
  author    = {Soorali Ganeshamurthy, Balakrishna},
  title     = {Nanoscale tribological studies of friction and wear on graphitic surfaces},
  organization    = {INM - Leibniz-Institut f{\"u}r Neue Materialien},
  doi       = {10.22028/D291-25424},
  institution = {Interactive Surfaces},
  school    = {Universit{\"a}t des Saarlandes},
  pages     = {120},
  year      = {2015},
  abstract  = {Understanding the atomistic origin of friction forces helps to design more efficient mechanical systems and lubricants. Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM) is a powerful tool for measuring mechanical properties in field of surface science. AFM, beyond imaging the surfaces at nanoscale, can also probe the surface forces down to piconewton forces and thus contribute to our understanding of friction at the atomic scale. In this thesis we present the results of AFM investigations into nanoscale friction anisotropy on graphitic materials and into the mechanical strength of graphene on Pt(111). We have discovered that on graphitic surfaces the friction forces reveal preferred sliding directions. Any deviation from the preferred directions results in a transverse component of friction which forces the slider to move along one of one of the atomic zigzag directions. For sliding on graphene/Pt(111) with increasing load we found three distinct regimes. At very low loads, sliding is entirely elastic and the friction is almost negligible. As load is increased, the platinum substrate undergoes plastic deformation but the graphene layer is unaffected. At very high pressures (> 50GPa) graphene ruptures and loses its protective character.},
  language  = {en}
}