“…The stiff backbone [18,19], low surface energy [19,20] and crystalline order [21,22], which ensue from this assembly, provide strong load bearing capacity [23,24] and low friction coefficient [25,26]. The monolayers are thus good lubricating options in hard disc drives [27] micro-electromechanical systems [28,29], and are known to provide excellent boundary lubrication for aluminium [30,31] when dispersed in oil. Nanotribology of these monolayers explored using atomic force microscope (AFM) has shown [27,[31][32][33] a finite friction force F 0 at zero normal load (L = 0) and a linear increase in friction force F, with normal load L, at higher normal loads.…”