3 (equilibrium spacing for the Lennard-Jones potential of the surfaces, nm) [29], K = 55.4 (combined elastic modulus, GPa), η = 0.2 (Tabor’s coefficient). Experimentally observed trace areas remained after ND displacement; contact areas calculated for the same NDs according to the FDM (Equation 3) and DMT (Equation 6) approaches using radii of ND end bulbs, measured

in SEM, are shown in Figure 6. It is evident that experimental Selleckchem AZD8931 results obtained by trace observations are closer to values of contact area calculated by FDM than to those by the DMT-M model (Figure 6). It means that the end bulbs of these NDs are not perfect spheroids, but truncated ones solidified in the contact with the substrate. However, the obtained experimental values are AZD2171 still lower

than FDM predicts. The possible reasons for FDM to overestimate the contact area are as follows: (1) the equilibrium shape of the droplet may differ significantly from the truncated spheroid, (2) the droplet solidifies before reaching the equilibrium shape, (3) it is possible that the contact angle of the substrate surface with liquid metal nanodroplets is larger than the contact angle of that with macroscopic droplets (135° to 150° instead of 123.8°). A phenomenon directly related to variations in friction force and contact area is a temporal dependence of contact area or aging [15, 30]. The force required to displace NDs was inversely proportional to the time intervals between the manipulation events. Figure 5c demonstrates the traces left after

the first and the second displacement of the same ND (time interval of a few minutes). The area of the first pair of traces is approximately 9.03 × 103 and 10.82 × 103 nm2 and only approximately DOCK10 2.63 × 103 and 2.62 × 103 nm2 for the second pair of traces. Analysis of the shape of this ND before and after displacement provides evidence that ND was displaced by sliding and rotation only. Therefore, the decrease of the contact area in this case cannot be explained by rolling of the ND onto the more spherical side of the end bulbs. Possible explanation of contact aging is diffusion of metal atoms, which can be accelerated by local heating or migration of electrons caused by the electron beam of SEM. However, detailed analysis of the contact aging phenomenon is out of the scope of this article. Conclusions It was demonstrated that metal NDs are attractive objects for nanomanipulation and nanotribology. Formation of metal ND on the substrate from a NW under laser beam radiation is a complex process. The final configuration of a ND is a result of the interplay between the intrinsic effects (i.e. melting, crystallization, effect of thermal stress, elastic forces) and adhesion during the separation of the NW from the substrate. The experimental study showed reduced contact area and adhesion of NDs in comparison to intact NWs.