Fabrication of Metal Nanohoneycomb Structures and Their Tribological Behavior

Metal nanohoneycomb structures were fabricated by E-beam evaporation and a two-step anodization process in phosphoric acid. Their tribological properties of adhesion and friction were investigated by AFM in relation to the pore size of the nanohoneycomb structures. Variations of the adhesive force are not found with pore size, but formation of the pore greatly reduces the adhesive force compared to the absence of pore structure. The coefficient of friction increased nonlinearly with pore size, due to surface undulation around the pore. Tribological properties do not differ greatly between the original nanohoneycomb structure and the metal nanohoneycomb structure.