Manoj Tripathi
Visitvisiting Senior Research Fellowing Senior Research Fellow (Physics and Astronomy)

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Lubricity of graphene is compromised due to the structural defects: Edges, step-edges and wrinkles Graphene is the stiffest and thinnest solid-state lubricant, thus, its coating over semiconductors, metals and on polymers makes them efficient and effective in tribo-mechanical applications. However, the load bearing and frictional capability of graphene is compromised due to presence of the structural defects eg. edges, step-edges and wrinkles. These defects resist the counter body (SPM probe) in relative motion as compared to the basal plane graphene which causes tremendous friction forces. In our recent investigations, we unravelled the nanoscale frictional characteristics of structural defects. We found that edges in the graphene is the most dire structural defect that causes wear in the single layer graphene followed by step-edge and wrinkles. This work is recently accepted in ACS applied materials & Interfaces