Interlayer bonding energy of layered minerals: Implication for the relationship with friction coefficient

Abstract

The frictional strength of layered minerals is an important component of fault slip physics. A low-friction coefficient of these minerals has been attributed to the interlayer bonding energy (ILBE) of their weak interlayer bonding. The ILBE used for discussing the friction coefficient is based on a simple electrostatic calculation; however, the values should be revisited by precise calculations based on quantum mechanics. In this study, the ILBEs of layered minerals were calculated by using the density functional theory (DFT) method with van der Waals correction. The ILBEs calculated by the simple electrostatic method for hydrogen-bonding minerals such as kaolinite, lizardite, gibbsite, and brucite strongly overestimated the reliable energies calculated by the DFT method. This result should be ascribed to the inaccurate approximation of the point charges at the basal plane. A linear relationship between the experimentally measured friction coefficients of layered minerals and the ILBEs determined by the simple method was not confirmed by using the reliable ILBEs calculated by our DFT method. The results, however, do not remove the possibility of a relationship between interlayer bonding energy and the friction coefficient because the latter, used for comparing the former, was obtained through experiments conducted under various conditions. Key Points Interlayer bonding energy (ILBE) is estimated by DFT calculations The relationship between ILBE and the friction coefficient is less clear Frictional strength should be discussed on the basis of the ILBE