Prediction of elastic-contact friction of transition metals under light loads based on their electron work functions

Adhesion and light-load friction are crucial to the effective operation of nano/micro-devices, which are dependent on physical and mechanical properties of two metals in contact. Electron work function (EWF) and elastic modulus of metals have been demonstrated to be dominant parameters for adhesion and light-load friction of metals. This paper presents the authors' recent studies to correlate the elastic properties of metal with the EWF. It is demonstrated that there exists a strong correlation between EWF and elastic behaviour. Such a correlation makes it possible to predict adhesion and elastic-contact friction mainly based on the EWF.