Sliding friction at a rubber/brush interface.
We study the friction of a poly(dimethylsiloxane) (PDMS) rubber network sliding, at low velocity, on a substrate on which PDMS chains are end-tethered. We thus clearly evidence the contribution to friction of the pullout mechanism of chain ends that penetrate into the network. This interfacial dissipative process is systematically investigated by probing the velocity dependence of the friction stress and its variations with the grafting density and molecular weight of the tethered chains. This allows us to confirm semiquantitatively the picture of arm retraction relaxation of the grafted chains proposed in models of slippage at a network/brush interface.
Bureau
Lionel
L
Laboratoire de Physique des Fluides Organisés, UMR 7125 Collège de France-CNRS, 11 place Marcelin Berthelot, 75231 Paris Cedex 05, France. lionel.bureau@college-de-france.fr
Léger
Liliane
L