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Applied physics and interfaces

Positively 'negative' friction

Friction classically decreases with decreasing load. Nanoscale measurements on chemically modified graphite now show an opposite trend related to local deformation, which could serve as a probe for determining the exfoliation energy of layered materials.

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Figure 1: Mechanism of effective 'negative' friction in chemically modified graphite.

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Correspondence to Kathryn J. Wahl.

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Wahl, K. Positively 'negative' friction. Nature Mater 11, 1004–1005 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1038/nmat3494

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