Friction between α-Al2O3(0001) surfaces and the effects of surface hydroxylation

0039-6028/$ see front matter 2009 Elsevier B.V. A doi:10.1016/j.susc.2009.06.022 * Corresponding author. Address: Department of Me University, 110 Cummington Street, Boston, MA 0221 358 4406; fax: +1 617 353 5866. E-mail address: [email protected] (Y. Zhang). Molecular dynamics simulations were performed to study the friction between hydroxylated aAl2O3(0 0 0 1) surfaces at the temperature of 300 K. Effects of the degree of surface hydroxylation and sliding velocity have been discussed. Results indicate that the friction coefficient decreases with increased degrees of hydroxylation. For all degrees of surface hydroxylation, the friction law crosses over from thermal activation to viscous damping at sliding velocity of 80 m/s. 2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.