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Structural superlubricity and ultralow friction across the length scales

Nature volume 563, pages 485–492 (2018)Cite this article

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Abstract

Structural superlubricity, a state of ultralow friction and wear between crystalline surfaces, is a fundamental phenomenon in modern tribology that defines a new approach to lubrication. Early measurements involved nanometre-scale contacts between layered materials, but recent experimental advances have extended its applicability to the micrometre scale. This is an important step towards practical utilization of structural superlubricity in future technological applications, such as durable nano- and micro-electromechanical devices, hard drives, mobile frictionless connectors, and mechanical bearings operating under extreme conditions. Here we provide an overview of the field, including its birth and main achievements, the current state of the art and the challenges to fulfilling its potential.

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Fig. 1: Timeline of major milestones in structural superlubricity research.
Fig. 2: Nanoscale structural superlubricity.
Fig. 3: Microscale superlubricity.
Fig. 4: Demonstrative applications of structural superlubricity at different length scales.

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Acknowledgements

O.H. is grateful to the Israel Science Foundation (grant no. 1586/17), the Lise-Meitner Minerva Center for Computational Quantum Chemistry, the Center for Nanoscience and Nanotechnology at Tel-Aviv University, and The Naomi Foundation for their financial support. E.M. acknowledges support from the Swiss National Science Foundation, the Swiss Nanoscience Institute and COST Action MP1303. Q.Z. acknowledges financial support from NSFC (grant no. 11227202, 1147215), the National Basic Research Program of China (grant nos 2013CB934200 and 2010CB631005), SRFDP (grant no. 20130002110043), and the Cyrus Tang Foundation. M.U. acknowledges financial support from the Israel Science Foundation (grant no. 1141/18), COST Action MP1303, and the Center for Nanoscience and Nanotechnology at Tel-Aviv University. We thank E. Koren and A. Erdemir for sharing high-resolution versions of Fig. 3b and d, respectively.

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Nature thanks A. Erdemir, E. Riedo, A. Schirmeisen, S. Zapperi and the other anonymous reviewer(s) for their contribution to the peer review of this work.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Physical Chemistry, School of Chemistry, The Raymond and Beverly Sackler Faculty of Exact Sciences, and The Sackler Center for Computational Molecular and Materials Science, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel

    Oded Hod & Michael Urbakh

  2. Department of Physics, University of Basel, Basel, Switzerland

    Ernst Meyer

  3. Department of Engineering Mechanics, Center for Nano and Micro Mechanics, Applied Mechanics Laboratory, and State Key Laboratory of Tribology, Tsinghua University, Beijing, China

    Quanshui Zheng

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O.H., E.M., Q.Z. and M.U. conceived the idea of writing this Perspective, devised its general structure, designed the figures, and contributed to the writing.

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Hod, O., Meyer, E., Zheng, Q. et al. Structural superlubricity and ultralow friction across the length scales. Nature 563, 485–492 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-018-0704-z

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