Phase Transistion and Tribology at the Nanoscale

Xiao Cheng Zeng
Associate Professor, Department of Chemistry
University of Nebraska - Lincoln
Lincoln, NE 68588-0304

Sponsored by the Dept. of Engineering Mechanics

Date: Tuesday, November 14, 2000
Time: 3:30 p.m.
Place: W128 Nebraska Hall


In this presentation, I will report recent progress made by our research group in two areas: nanotribology and water-to-ice phase transition in nanopores. Tribology is traditionally an engineering field that deals with friction and lubrication between two solid surfaces. The emerging field of nanotribology concerns friction and lubrication at the nanometer scale (or molecular scale). This development is largely due to the invention of the atomic force microscope (AFM) by Binnig and coworkers in mid-eighties. The AFM technique is now routinely used by scientists and engineers. Our two recent studies on computer modeling of AFM will be presented first. One addresses the effects of physisorption on the static friction between two commensurate solid surfaces, and the other concerns the scan images if an AFM experiment has to be done in liquid environment (e.g., water). In addition, I will present our work on molecular dynamics simulations of water-to-ice phase transition when the water is confined in nanoscale pores.