Published online by Cambridge University Press: 11 February 2011
The frictional behavior of a C60 monolayer film between graphite substrates is studied using a homebuilt surface force apparatus. The mean frictional force from the C60 monolayers is estimated to be approximately 2mN, which is one-fifth that of C60 thin films. The C60 monolayer films exhibit a low frictional force of 2mN up to one hundred scans under a normal stress of 8MPa, which indicates that the C60 monolayer film is highly promising for use as a lubricant. Key words, C60 monolayer film, Lubrication, Mechanical properties, Micromachines