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Nam, Shinjae ; Hörmann, Lukas ; Gretz, Oliver ; Hofmann, Oliver T. ; Giessibl, Franz J. ; Weymouth, Alfred J.

Sliding friction over individual aromatic bonds correlates with bond order

Nam, Shinjae , Hörmann, Lukas, Gretz, Oliver , Hofmann, Oliver T., Giessibl, Franz J. and Weymouth, Alfred J. (2026) Sliding friction over individual aromatic bonds correlates with bond order. Nature Communications 17, p. 3694.

Date of publication of this fulltext: 24 Apr 2026 08:18
Article
DOI to cite this document: 10.5283/epub.79319


Abstract

Friction is ubiquitous, and has therefore been studied extensively to determine how it can be modified. Most experiments are not controlled down to the atomic level and encounter challenges with repeatability. We oscillate a tip ending in a single atom laterally over individual chemical bonds and measure the resulting energy dissipation. While one might expect the energy loss over aromatic bonds ...

Friction is ubiquitous, and has therefore been studied extensively to determine how it can be modified. Most experiments are not controlled down to the atomic level and encounter challenges with repeatability. We oscillate a tip ending in a single atom laterally over individual chemical bonds and measure the resulting energy dissipation. While one might expect the energy loss over aromatic bonds to be very similar, this is not the case. DFT-based simulations show that over aromatic bonds, the sliding friction correlates to bond order and is largely determined by the increased electron density between the atoms. Finally, we compare this to friction over hydrogen bonds and show that friction can be of the same magnitude but is due to interaction of the single atom asperity with the atoms of the hydrogen bond themselves. These findings show how friction can be tuned by adjusting the bond order of sliding surfaces.



Involved Institutions


Details

Item typeArticle
Journal or Publication TitleNature Communications
Publisher:Springer
Open Access Type:DEAL (Springer Gold)
Volume:17
Page Range:p. 3694
Date22 April 2026
InstitutionsPhysics > Institute of Experimental and Applied Physics
Physics > Institute of Experimental and Applied Physics > Chair Professor Giessibl > Group Franz J. Giessibl
Projects
Funded by: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) (397771090)
Funded by: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) (444750204)
Funded by: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) (UNSPECIFIED)
Identification Number
ValueType
10.1038/s41467-026-72128-xDOI
Dewey Decimal Classification500 Science > 530 Physics
StatusPublished
RefereedYes, this version has been refereed
Created at the University of RegensburgPartially
URN of the UB Regensburgurn:nbn:de:bvb:355-epub-793191
Item ID79319

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