Why friction depends on the number of layers

(Karlsruher Institut für Technologie (KIT) ) Based on simulations, friction properties of the two-dimensional carbon graphene were studied by scientists of Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) and the Fraunhofer Institute for Mechanics of Materials IWM with scientists in China and the USA. In contact with monolayer graphene, friction is higher than with multi-layered graphene or graphite; friction force increases for continued sliding. The scientists attribute this to the real contact ar