Chain length effects on frictional behavior of confined ultrathin films of linear alkanes under shear

Molecular dynamics simulations have been performed to study the effect of molecular chain length on frictional behavior of confined thin liquid films under shear. One of the walls confining the films, composed of linear alkanes (chain length 6-80), was moved at a constant velocity for two different pressures. The results indicate that there are distinct differences in frictional behavior under fast sliding velocity between low and high pressures. Under high pressure, interfacial slip appears between the moving wall, base, and the film, and shear stress doe not depend on the chain length. On the other hand, for low pressure, interlayer slips within the film appear in longer chains and shear stress depends on the chain length. In the interfacial and interlayer slip regions, more heat generated by friction is observed. Also, the interfacial shear stress is caused by the slider, interlayer shear stress is caused by interwined and locked layers, and both these stresses have maximum values. When the maximum interfacial shear stress is larger than the maximum interlayer shear stress, interlayer slips occur and in the reverse, interfacial slip occurs. When both maximum shear stresses are larger than the required shear stress for the film to have a uniform shear rate, there is no slip.