Ultrathin Wear‐Resistant Ionic Liquid Films for Novel MEMS/NEMS Applications

Two ionic liquids, BMIM-PF6 and BMIM-OctSO4, are applied on Si (100) and investigated for the first time using atomic force microscopy (AFM). These liquids exhibit comparable adhesion, friction and wear characteristics relative to the perfluoropolyether lubricant Z-TETRAOL. By configuring the AFM as a nano-Kelvin probe, surface potential maps of the coated surfaces are obtained after wear testing.