B2: Structural changes in nanoparticles under pressure loading

Structural changes in nanoparticles under pressure loading

The adhesion and friction of particles is of enormous importance in numerous technological applications. At the same time, the physical processes of contact between particles and substrates, in particular in the lower nm range, are often not completely understood. Contact forces of particles on surfaces and between particles strongly depend on the local contact geometry, in particular the local roughness. These nanostructures in the range <100 nm strongly variable in size. They determine the acting adhesive forces which change as the roughness changes due to elastic and inelastic deformation. The description of these deformations, however, is largely incomplete and is therefore studied in this project.