2011 Volume 9 Pages 409-415
Model simulation of adhesion and friction of the nano-scale brush interacting with the nano-scale tip is performed by molecular mechanics method. The nanobrush is modeled by a bundle comprised of seven single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs), and the nanotip is modeled by a diamond [111] cluster cut by (111) lattice plane. During the tip moving process, the nanotip compresses and bends SWCNTs comprising the nanobrush toward the direction reflecting the tip-moving direction and the tip shape. When the bending deflection of each SWCNT goes beyond a critical value, the local structural transition toward another metastable structure of the nanobrush occurs, which results in the discrete signals in the vertical and lateral force curves. The theory of elasticity can qualitatively explain the critical loading force for the buckling of the center SWCNT comprising the nanobrush. [DOI: 10.1380/ejssnt.2011.409]
