Probing structural superlubricity of two-dimensional water transport with atomic resolution

• 成果类型: Article
• 署名作者: Wu, Da; Zhao, Zhengpu; Lin, Bo; Song, Yizhi; Qi, Jiajie; Jiang, Jian; Yuan, Zifeng; Cheng, Bowei; Zhao, Mengze; Tian, Ye; Wang, Zhichang; Wu, Muhong; Bian, Ke; Liu, Kai-Hui; Xu, Li-Mei; Zeng, Xiao Cheng; Wang, En-Ge; Jiang, Ying
• 署名单位: Peking University; City University of Hong Kong; Peking University; Peking University; Peking University; Chinese Academy of Sciences; Liaoning University; Liaoning University; Peking University; Tsinghua University; Collaborative Innovation Center of Quantum Matter; City University of Hong Kong; Peking University
• 刊物名称: SCIENCE
• ISSN/ISSBN: 0036-8149
• DOI: 10.1126/science.ado1544
• 发表日期: 2024-06-14
• 页码: 1254-1259
• 关键词: hexagonal boron-nitride; confined water; graphene; friction; FLOW; ice; desalination; nanofluidics; TRANSITION; adlayers

摘要

Low-dimensional water transport can be drastically enhanced under atomic-scale confinement. However, its microscopic origin is still under debate. In this work, we directly imaged the atomic structure and transport of two-dimensional water islands on graphene and hexagonal boron nitride surfaces using qPlus-based atomic force microscopy. The lattice of the water island was incommensurate with the graphene surface but commensurate with the boron nitride surface owing to different surface electrostatics. The area-normalized static friction on the graphene diminished as the island area was increased by a power of similar to-0.58, suggesting superlubricity behavior. By contrast, the friction on the boron nitride appeared insensitive to the area. Molecular dynamic simulations further showed that the friction coefficient of the water islands on the graphene could reduce to <0.01.