Measurement of single-molecule frictional dissipation in a prototypical nanoscale system

Abstract

A picosecond technique for measuring the kinetic friction of a single benzene molecule on graphite reveals continuous Brownian motion, rather than the jerky hopping observed on most other surfaces. Fast-moving nanoscale systems offer the tantalizing possibility for rapid processing of materials, energy or information1. Frictional forces can easily dominate the motion of these systems, yet whereas nanomechanical techniques, such as atomic force microscopy, are widely used to measure static nanoscale friction2, they are too slow to measure the kinetic friction crucial for short-timescale motion. Here, we report measurements of frictional damping for a prototypical nanoscale system: benzene on a graphite surface, driven by thermal motion. Spin-echo spectroscopy is used to measure the picosecond time dependence of the motion of single benzene molecules, indicating a type of atomic-scale continuous Brownian motion not previously observed. Quantifying the frictional coupling between moving molecules and the surface, as achieved in these measurements, is important for the characterization of phononically driven nanomechanical tools. The data also provide a benchmark for simulations of nanoscale kinetic friction and demonstrate the applicability of the spin-echo technique.