Tribology has a major role to play to reduce the total energy consumption worldwide. Yet, the lubricant behavior in extreme conditions is poorly known, and therefore unpredictable. In this project, we propose to couple a Brillouin Light Scattering set up with a tribometer to carry in situ spectroscopy characterization of lubricants in a highly confined contact. This experimental approach will lead to simultaneously measure the thermodynamic state of the lubricant, its structural dynamics and the resulting macroscopic friction causing high energy dissipation.

The behavior of materials at the nanoscale is known to be different from the one observed for bulk material. Due to the nanometer size of the sample, it is nevertheless difficult to observe the mechanisms responsible for these differences, and to measure the differences of properties. This project will develop techniques to improve the accuracy when measuring the mechanical properties of nanoparticles.