In the theoretical part of his research, Van Baarle developed a model of how friction occurs at atomic level. When two surfaces slide over one another, the actual contact points are only nanometres in size, just a very few atoms. The friction is at its maximum when the stiffness of the nano-protrusions is roughly average: not too soft, but also not too stiff.
Van Baarle: ‘One of my colleagues is currently coating an object with nano-needles using a lithography technique (a technique that is also used for computer chips). These needles vary in stiffness, depending on the direction in which they bend. This means that the friction of the surface is different in different directions.’ This can be useful, for example, for a coating on a revolving axis, to prevent it moving laterally.
‘Internally we are already using graphene coatings in our equipment to reduce friction without using lubricants,’ Van Baarle explains. ‘It has already resulted in a patent and a start-up, Applied Nanolayers. No wonder our professor, Joost Frenken, has already won a valorisation prize.’
