Probing tribological evolution in atomically thin MoS₂ at different scales

• Xingzhong Zeng and
• Miao Zhang

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2026, 17, 586–597, doi:10.3762/bjnano.17.40

• (MoS2) under controlled loads using a calibrated atomic force microscope (AFM), with a focus on quantifying the strengthening effect and sub-nanoscale stick–slip motion. Our results reveal that the nanoscale strengthening effect intensifies with increasing applied load but weakens as the number of MoS2

• layers increases, attributed to the reduced out-of-plane flexibility in thicker films. Critically, we identify the slip distance during the slip phase as a reliable metric for sub-nanoscale stick–slip motion. The slip distance increases with the frequency of sub-nanoscale stick–slip events and exhibits a

• and suppresses sub-nanoscale stick–slip motion. Under moderate-to-high loads, the puckering effect becomes dominant, enhancing sub-nanoscale stick–slip events and increasing slip distance. At ultrahigh loads, the nanoscale strengthening effect transitions to static friction, which quenches sub