Recent highlights in nanoscale and mesoscale friction

• Andrea Vanossi,
• Dirk Dietzel,
• Andre Schirmeisen,
• Ernst Meyer,
• Rémy Pawlak,
• Thilo Glatzel,
• Marcin Kisiel,
• Shigeki Kawai and
• Nicola Manini

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2018, 9, 1995–2014, doi:10.3762/bjnano.9.190

• ” research field is leading to new technological advances in the area of engineering and materials science. Keywords: atomic force microscopy; dissipation; friction; mesoscale; nanomanipulation; nanoscale; scale bridging; structural lubricity; superlubricity; Introduction Friction, the force that resists

• becomes crucial for the intriguing concept of structural lubricity, where collective force cancellation effects can result in ultra-low friction for incommensurate interfaces [39][40][41]. Note that “superlubricity” and “structural lubricity” are often used synonymous throughout the literature, although

• the latter term should be considered to be more accurate [42]. The experimental analysis of structural lubricity has long since been difficult, because well-defined junctions between conventional AFM tips and substrates cannot readily be found for single-asperity contacts. Instead, the detailed