Close Menu
  • News
  • Medical
  • Technology
  • Nanomaterials
  • Research
  • Blog
    • Nasiol.com
  • Contact
    • Tech7685@gmail.com
What's Hot

Naturally derived nanoparticles show promise against cardiovascular and kidney disease

June 6, 2025

Ballistic electrons chart a new course for next-gen terahertz devices

June 6, 2025

‘Stealthy’ lipid nanoparticles give mRNA vaccines a makeover

June 5, 2025
Facebook X (Twitter) Instagram
Nanotech – Nanomaterials | Medical | Research | News Stories Updated Daily Nanotech – Nanomaterials | Medical | Research | News Stories Updated Daily
  • News
  • Medical
  • Technology
  • Nanomaterials
  • Research
  • Blog
    • Nasiol.com
  • Contact
    • Tech7685@gmail.com
Facebook X (Twitter) Instagram
Nanotech – Nanomaterials | Medical | Research | News Stories Updated Daily Nanotech – Nanomaterials | Medical | Research | News Stories Updated Daily
Home»News»A way to make super-smooth materials
News

A way to make super-smooth materials

May 17, 2025No Comments5 Mins Read
Facebook Twitter Pinterest Telegram LinkedIn Tumblr WhatsApp Email
A way to make super-smooth materials
Share
Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Pinterest Telegram Email
LEEM and µ-LEED experiments. Credit: Small (2024). DOI: 10.1002/smll.202408349

Scientists from the Faculty of Physics and Applied Informatics at the University of Lodz have published an article on friction in the journal Small. Their research on “bismuth islands” moving on the surface of graphite confirmed the existence of a totally new form of so-called superlubricity—a friction-free contact between two solid bodies.

This discovery could revolutionize the way we design nanoscale machines, and even vehicles, in the future. By understanding these processes, we can create devices that can operate much more efficiently, saving on energy and resources.

Scientists led by Dr. Hab. Paweł Kowalczyk, associate professor at the University of Lodz, have discovered a new phenomenon related to the disappearance of friction—superlubricity. This special phenomenon was observed at the contact of two solid materials, bismuth and graphite.

Bismuth is intentionally deposited on the surface of graphite (the same material in your pencil lead) and forms extremely flat crystals, so thin that their thickness is only 2 atoms wide. The first surprise was that the bismuth crystals move around on the surface of graphene, along straight lines. This is the first-ever report of this phenomenon, changes the way we think about friction and adhesion of materials, and opens up future research and development ideas for friction reduction.

What is superlubricity?

Superlubricity is a condition in which the friction between solid materials becomes imperceptible. Under normal conditions, the friction between two surfaces makes it difficult to move them relative to each other, because there are forces that bind the atoms in both materials, as if connected by tiny springs.

See also  Hacking DNA to make next-gen semiconductor materials

In superlubricity systems, however, these tiny springs are so weak that the two bodies can move without resistance. This phenomenon has been relatively well-known for many years, and it is the reason why many commercial lubricants contain graphite. The atomic layers in graphite are weakly bonded, and can slide easily from each other.

To date, superlubricity has always been isotropic: the friction is canceled in all directions equally. Now, with this new discovery, a new form of superlubricity has been achieved, where the friction is zero in one direction only, and has conventional friction in other directions.

You can even experiment at home with this. After using graphite-based pencils and before washing your hands, rub your graphite-coated fingers together. You can actually feel the extremely low friction, as the tips of your fingers can move very easily, and the whole thing feels very “slippery.”

How does it work?

Microscopy sequences presented in the article show that the bismuth crystals deposited on the surface of graphite are not stationary at all. Although they are solids, they behave a bit like oil drops on a hot surface, and constantly move from place to place.

Surprisingly, their movement always takes place along straight lines, due to a very specific arrangement of their atomic lattices. These straight lines are reminiscent of highways, and because they enable fast collective motion of crystals along one direction, are called nano-highways.

When the statistical distribution of the crystal trajectories is measured, it turns out that it can be described using a power law—that is, most of the bismuth crystals move on the surface spontaneously along very short distances, such as very short lengths of 10 or 20 nm; but a significant number of crystals also travel much larger distances, of up to 1000 nm. Interestingly, these nano-highway lengths follow a type of random walk called “Lévy flight.” This way of statistically moving on the surface is extremely rare in the study of solid materials.

See also  Shinshu University's Breakthrough: Graphene Oxide Nanosheets and the Revolution in Adaptive Materials

This type of movement is particularly interesting as it occurs in many unexpected areas of nature, in particular in collective and intelligent systems, such as animals searching for food. To survive, foraging patterns are optimized when, occasionally, large traveling distances are made to avoid searching for food in empty areas for too long. This takes place not only in natural systems, but in human ones too: the flow of information on the Internet and the stock market also behave according to Lévy flight statistics.

Discover the latest in science, tech, and space with over 100,000 subscribers who rely on Phys.org for daily insights.
Sign up for our free newsletter and get updates on breakthroughs,
innovations, and research that matter—daily or weekly.

Why is it important?

This discovery may have major implications for the future of nanotechnology. For example, by understanding how these islands move on graphite, scientists may develop materials that have much lower friction, which is much more present in microscopic systems than in large-scale objects.

Such materials could be used in a variety of devices, from precision machinery to vehicles, which, thanks to lower friction, would be more efficient and less subject to wear. This, in turn, would allow us to save on energy costs (the energy spent on moving the object will not turn into heat) and material savings (much less repair will be required), which would have a positive impact on the environment. If friction could be removed altogether from society, humanity would save nearly a quarter of carbon emissions.

See also  The Key to Achieving Controlled Nanotube Fabrication

In the future, the researchers plan to conduct even more research that will allow them to better understand how various factors, such as temperature, the size of the islands and the type of defects on the graphite surface, affect the friction and movement of these islands. They are also looking for other materials that have similar properties.

Provided by
University of Lodz 


Source link

materials supersmooth
Share. Facebook Twitter Pinterest LinkedIn Tumblr Email

Related Posts

Naturally derived nanoparticles show promise against cardiovascular and kidney disease

June 6, 2025

Ballistic electrons chart a new course for next-gen terahertz devices

June 6, 2025

‘Stealthy’ lipid nanoparticles give mRNA vaccines a makeover

June 5, 2025

Single-layer waveguide display uses achromatic metagratings for more compact augmented reality eyewear

June 5, 2025

2D hybrid material integrates graphene and silica glass for next-generation electronics

June 4, 2025

Zeolite nanopore model links crystal size to metal cluster migration and catalyst performance

June 4, 2025

Comments are closed.

Top Articles
News

Innovative platform utilizes 3D engineered nanofiber membrane

News

Silver nanoparticles trapped within a polymer matrix allow for precise color control in anti-counterfeiting technology

Medical

Researchers investigate the efficacy of a novel intra-tumoral drug delivery carrier in treating oral squamous cell carcinoma

Editors Picks

Naturally derived nanoparticles show promise against cardiovascular and kidney disease

June 6, 2025

Ballistic electrons chart a new course for next-gen terahertz devices

June 6, 2025

‘Stealthy’ lipid nanoparticles give mRNA vaccines a makeover

June 5, 2025

Single-layer waveguide display uses achromatic metagratings for more compact augmented reality eyewear

June 5, 2025
About Us
About Us

Your go-to source for the latest nanotechnology breakthroughs. Explore innovations, applications, and implications shaping the future at the molecular level. Stay informed, embrace the nano-revolution.

We're accepting new partnerships right now.

Facebook X (Twitter) Instagram Pinterest
Our Picks

Nanoindenters | A Guide

August 19, 2023

Researchers develop a roadmap for the development of information technology based on 2D materials

June 14, 2024

Looking deep into the smallest pores

February 29, 2024

Subscribe to Updates

Get the latest creative Nano Tech news from Elnano.com

© 2025 Elnano.com - All rights reserved.
  • Contact
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms & Conditions

Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.

Cleantalk Pixel