Effects of High Temperature Annealing on the Frictional Properties of Graphene

Abstract

Graphene has highly promising for significantly minimizing friction and wear in MEMS/NEMS. However, graphene films used in MEMS/NEMS are typically subjected to thermal annealing pretreatment during the fabrication process. To maintain optimal performance, it is particularly necessary to investigate the evolution of graphene tribological properties after high temperature annealing. In this article, by performing nanoscale AFM measurements on mechanically exfoliated graphene, we reveal that the friction force on graphene decreases slightly upon annealing to approximately 200°C, then gradually increases before rising rapidly once the annealing temperature exceeds 500°C. Raman Spectroscopy identifies that the changes in friction result from the annealing-induced compressive stress accumulation and defects creation. Our results provide deep insights for the application of graphene in sliding MEMS/NEMS.

Keywords: 2D vdW material, nano friction, annealing temperature, AFM