Letter to the Editor: Friction between Surfaces—Polyacrylic Acid Brush and Silica—Mediated by Calcium Ions

Abstract

With this letter, we report how friction can be controlled by inducing physical bonds solely within a polyelectrolyte brush layer, while keeping repulsive interactions between the brush layer and the bare surface that slides above. Our results imply that the nature of the bare surface is of minor importance as long as the repulsive surface interaction is maintained.

Keywords:

• AFM
• boundary lubrication
• brush layer
• calcium ion
• poly(acrylic acid)

This work was supported by the Foundation for Strategic Research (SSF) through the program “Microstructure, Corrosion, and Friction Control.”