Ultrathin wear-resistant ionic liquid films for novel MEMS/NEMS applications

Two ionic liquids, BMIM-PF6 and BMIM-OCtSO(4), are applied on Si (100) and investigated for the first time using atomic force microscopy (AFM). These liquids exhibit comparable adhesion, friction and wear characteristics relative to the perfluoropolyether lubricant Z-TETRAOL. By configuring the AFM as a nano-Kelvin probe, surface potential maps of the coated surfaces are obtained after wear testing.