Superlubricity in solid lubricated sliding and rolling contacts

Superlubricity, or near zero friction is a highly desired lubrication state for a wide range of practical applications. Although such application scenarios often involve complex contact geometries, solid lubricant technologies, including previous efforts on achieving superlubricity, are almost entirely in linear sliding test conditions. This report demonstrates an experimental pathway to yield superlubricity in rolling-sliding contact conditions using solid-lubricant materials. Ti₃C₂X based solid lubricant was tested under complex sliding-rolling conditions at engineering-significant contact pressures. The material's compression and inter-layer shearing result in material reconstruction to pose superlubricity. High-resolution transmission electron microscopy analysis, complemented by multi-scan Raman spectroscopy showed the formation of a robust amorphous tribolayer. This demonstration is expected to not only advance the applied aspects in the development of oil-free solid lubricants but also push the boundaries of fundamental understanding of materials’ structure-property relations across physical states.