Adhesion and friction studies on silicon dioxide nanoparticle-textured surfaces prepared by the spin-coating process

Abstract

Silicon dioxide nanoparticle-textured surfaces were prepared by the spin-coating process. The adhesion and friction properties of the nanoparticle-textured surfaces were investigated using an atomic force microscope colloidal probe. Experimental results revealed that the nanoparticle-textured surfaces can significantly reduce adhesive and friction forces compared with a flat surface. The main reason for this phenomenon was that the nanotexture can reduce contact area between the sample surface and the colloidal probe. The relationships between surface root mean square (RMS) roughness, packing density, and spinning rate were also discussed. The effects of surface RMS roughness and packing density on the adhesion and friction behaviors of the nanotextured surfaces were investigated. The adhesive and friction forces of the nanoparticle-textured surfaces decreased with increasing packing density. The friction forces of the nanoparticle-textured surfaces increased with increasing applied load and sliding velocity. This approach should be applied to new developments in nanosystems to reduce adhesive and friction forces between contact pairs.