International Journal of Advancements in Technology
Open Access

Study on Interfacial Interactions and Tribological Behavior on Metals

Aamir Farooq^{* *}Correspondence: Aamir Farooq, Department of Computer Science, National Institute of Technology Kurukshetra, Kurukshetra, India, Tel: +44 (0)300 019 6175, Email:

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Description

This task combines an experimental Atomic Force Microscope (AFM) with a Density Functional Theory (DFT) simulation to study the interface between a metal oxide (copper oxide and titanium) and a 2D material (grapheme). The combination of AFM and DFT made it possible to identify interfacial interactions and established a correlation between tribological behavior, interfacial charge distribution, and variation in slip potential energy profile along the metal/2D-material interface. It was found that the metal oxides TiO₂ and CuO (copper oxide) are chemically adsorbed mainly along the interface with the 2D material. Both metal oxide joint surfaces (TiO₂ and CuO) showed higher friction and adhesion with graphene than MoS₂. Based on comparison with the DFT simulation, it was concluded that the CuO surface is rich in copper. When only the electronic effect is considered in the DFT simulation, it was found that the charge distribution at the interface and the relative energy change strongly affect the slip and adhesion behavior between the contacts of the metal oxide/2D material. We found that more uniform charge distribution sharing and lower surface energy fluctuations at the interface, as seen on the MoS₂ surface, reduce friction and adhesion. It was found that the non-electronic effect not captured by the simulation is likely to dominate the interfacial shear strength measurement experimentally.

Titanium and copper have been widely used in the manufacture of electrical and mechanical parts for decades. At the 1,2 macroscale, lubrication with layered materials such as graphite and thick MoS₂ can significantly improve the tribological properties of metals, primarily due to the formation of beneficial friction films. The formation helps to significantly reduce the Coefficient of Friction (COF) and wear rate. The structure of friction membranes can be complex and cons ists of 2D ultrathin materials, non-oxidizing and metal oxide species (CuO, TiO₂, etc.) when exposed to ambient conditions (air, water, etc.). The identification of interfacial phenomena of these individual species within one friction film remains largely unknown in macroscale studies, as it is difficult to separate them individually. A complete understanding of the interface between 3D and 2D materials and metal oxide is important as they are used more. They design a nanoscale hybrid material system.

Applications for these nanoscale hybrid systems of metals and 2D materials include advanced lubricants 2, electronics 6-8, and energy storage equipment, shows excellent properties such as improved lubricity copper and graphene friction coefficient reduced by 50% compared to pure copper, copper/graphene increased by 80% compared to pure copper, modulus of elasticity (eg, copper/graphene increased 3 times) pure copper, abrasion resistance, thermal/electrical modulus, and fatigue resistance (copper/graphene fatigue resistance is 5 to 6 times higher than that of pure copper). The 10–17 enhanced properties are often dominated by interfacial interactions between metal/2D material interfaces. Weakly interacting interfaces, such as copper/graphene, can minimize cracking/ crack propagation and improve the fatigue life of nanoscale composite films. Emerging technologies such as flexible electronics are being developed using metals and metal oxide/2D materials to study and understand interfacial mechanisms that can affect processes such as delamination. Controlled experimental studies of the interface between metal oxides and 2D materials remain large in the current literature, as existing atomic/nanoscale studies are primarily limited to atomic simulations such as Density Functional Theory (DFT).