We provide a theoretical model that describes the dielectric coupling of a 2D layer of graphene, represented by a polarization function in the Random Phase Approximation, and a semi-infinite 3D substrate, represented by a surface response function in a non-local formulation. We concentrate on the role of the dynamic response of the substrate for low-frequency excitations of the combined graphene-substrate system, which give rise to the stopping force on slowly moving charges above graphene. A comparison of the dielectric loss function with experimental HREELS data for graphene on a SiC substrate is used to estimate the damping rate in graphene and to reveal the importance of phonon excitations in an insulating substrate. A signature of the hybridization between graphene's pi plasmon and the substrate's phonon is found in the stopping force. A friction coefficient that is calculated for slow charges moving above graphene on a metallic substrate shows an interplay between the low-energy single-particle excitations in both systems.
We study the influence of transverse electric fields on the interfacial forces between a graphene layer and a carbon nanotube tip by means of atomistic simulations, in which a Gaussian regularized charge-dipole potential is combined with classical force fields. A significant effect of the field-induced electric charge on the normal force is observed. The normal pressure is found to be sensitive to the presence of a transverse electric field, while the friction force remains relatively invariant for the here-used field intensities. The contact can even be turned to have a negative coefficient o…
Using molecular dynamics simulations, we probe a suspended graphene layer by a diamond-like-carbon tip at various temperatures. The force acting on the tip in the sliding direction is measured to be negative at liquid-helium temperature. This negative force is found to be associated with a spontaneous lateral oscillation of the suspended graphene in favor of a low interface potential corrugation. Our hypothesis is that, at low temperature, this oscillation induces an important hidden contribution to the friction force in the lateral direction. This functions as a particular energy dissipation …
Calculations of friction and heat transfer at the water-multilayer graphene interface using the theories of phononic and radiative friction and heat transfer are presented. The phononic contributions to friction and heat transfer are many orders of magnitude larger than the radiative contributions. Phononic friction and heat transfer slightly increase with an increase in the number of graphene layers $N$ and reach saturation at $N>5$, which is associated with an increase in the phonon transmission coefficient through the interface and a finite phonon mean free path in the direction perpendicul…
This article is a continuation of our previous studies of the frictional anisotropy of metal nanoparticles on the surface of a graphene substrate for other temperature conditions. The friction force acting on palladium nanoparticles on a graphene sheet in various lateral directions is investigated using classical molecular dynamics modelling. Anisotropy is studied at high sliding speeds of nanoparticles consisting of 10000 atoms on the surface of graphene. The effect of incommensurability and short-range order of the contact surfaces of nanoparticles, as well as the graphene deformation lead t…
This paper studies the lubricating properties of graphene on randomly rough Au surfaces in sliding nanofriction using molecular dynamics. It is shown that the friction and the consequent heat dissipation decrease more than an order of magnitude in the presence of graphene. The performance of graphene nanoribbons as lubricants is, however, limited because of detachment and displacement at the interface. Sliding contacts lubricated with a stretched graphene sheet exhibit low friction, but possibly also low structural stability. This suggests that the graphene-substrate adherence could be crucial…
It is shown using the method of molecular dynamics that the motion of carbon nanoparticles (rectangular graphene flakes, spherical fullerenes of size $L<10$ nm) on the surface of a thermalized graphene sheet lying on a flat substrate can be described as the motion of particles in a viscous medium with a constant coefficient of friction, the value of which depends on the temperature and particle size. It has been shown that there are two types of effective friction: diffusion and ballistic. In ballistic regime of motion (at velocities $v>100$ m/s), deceleration occurs due to the interaction of …
We study gate field effects on the Mn$_{12}$O$_{12}$(COOH)$_{16}$(H$_2$O)$_4$ | graphene | GaAs heterostructure via first-principles calculations. We find that under moderate doping levels electrons can be added to but not taken from the single-molecule magnet Mn$_{12}$O$_{12}$(COOH)$_{16}$(H$_2$O)$_4$ (Mn$_{12}$). The magnetic anisotropy energy (MAE) of Mn$_{12}$ decreases as the electron doping level increases, due to electron transfer from graphene to Mn$_{12}$ and change in the band alignment between Mn$_{12}$ and graphene. At an electron doping level of $-5.00 \times 10^{13}\, \textrm{cm}…
Charge-neutral conducting systems represent a class of materials with unusual properties governed by electron-hole (e-h) interactions. Depending on the quasiparticles' statistics, band structure, and device geometry these semimetallic phases of matter can feature unconventional responses to external fields that often defy simple interpretations in terms of single-particle physics. Here we show that small-angle twisted bilayer graphene (SA-TBG) offers a highly-tunable system in which to explore interactions-limited electron conduction. By employing a dual-gated device architecture we tune our d…
In light of the race towards macroscale superlubricity of graphitic contacts, the effect of grain boundaries on their frictional properties becomes of central importance. Here, we elucidate the unique frictional mechanisms characterizing topological defects along typical grain boundaries that can vary from being nearly flat to highly corrugated, depending on the boundary misfit angle. We find that frictional energy dissipation over grain boundaries can originate from variations of compressibility along the surface, heat produced during defect (un)buckling events, and elastic energy storage in …
Understanding the ultrafast carrier dynamics of graphene on a substrate is a fundamental step in the development of graphene based opto-electronic devices. Here, we present ultrafast pump-probe measurements of supported graphene on quartz for a range of pump fluences that enable us to observe both decreased and enhanced probe transmission regimes on a femtosecond timescale. Unexpectedly, at an intermediate pump fluence, an order of magnitude decrease in the relaxation time constant of the differential transmission is observed. By employing a number of different models to interpret our experime…
Graphene nanoribbons (GNRs) physisorbed on a Au(111) surface can be picked up, lifted at one end, and made slide by means of the tip of an atomic-force microscope. The dynamical transition from smooth sliding to multiple stick-slip regimes, the pushing/pulling force asymmetry, the presence of pinning, and its origin are real frictional processes in a nutshell, in need of a theoretical description. To this purpose, we conduct classical simulations of frictional manipulations for GNRs up to 30 nm in length, one end of which is pushed or pulled horizontally while held at different heights above t…
Quantifying superlubricity of bilayer graphene from the mobility of interface dislocations
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign（伊利诺伊大学厄巴纳-香槟分校）；Material Research Laboratory, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign（伊利诺伊大学厄巴纳-香槟分校材料研究实验室）
Heterostructures made from van der Waals materials provide a template to investigate proximity effects at atomically sharp heterointerfaces. In particular, near-field charge and energy transfer in heterostructures made from semiconducting transition metal dichalcogenides (TMD) have attracted interest to design model 2D "donor-acceptor" systems and new optoelectronic components. Here, using of Raman scattering and photoluminescence spectroscopies, we report a comprehensive characterization of a molybedenum diselenide (MoSe$_2$) monolayer deposited onto hexagonal boron nitride (hBN) and capped b…
