Atomic-Scale Friction and Adhesion at Ambient Pressure

In this Perspective, we present the recent advancement and the prospects of atomic-scale friction and adhesion measurements across the pressure gap between ultrahigh vacuum and ambient pressure environments using variable-pressure atomic force microscopy (VP-AFM). We introduce the VP-AFM that enables nanotribological studies under various gas conditions with partial pressure ranging from UHV (1.0 × 10-10 mbar) to 1 bar. We highlight the frictional behaviors of ultrananocrystalline diamond surface in oxygen and water gas environments, as well as the chemical states probed with near-ambient pressure X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (NAP-XPS). The atomic scale degradation processes of MA(CH3NH3)PbBr3, which is an organic-inorganic hybrid perovskite (OHP) investigated with VP-AFM are introduced. Finally, we discuss the potential works on catalytic model systems including bimetallic Pt3Ni(111) and TiO2(110) and the future perspective of nanotribology under ambient conditions. © 2024 American Chemical Society.