The authors report the direct observation of a single asperity tungsten tip sliding on graphite by in situ transmission electron microscopy (TEM) nanomanipulation. The in situ TEM studies have confirmed that graphitic flakes transfer to a sliding tungsten probe, validating proposed friction mechanisms explaining the unique tribological properties of graphite. Wear of graphite was observed, typically removing sheets of graphite on the order of ten basal planes in thickness. Consistency between wear flake thickness and interfacial dislocation standoff distances is discussed.
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Merkle et al. (2007) studied this question.
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