Structural superlubricity in 2D van der Waals heterojunctions

Abstract

Abstract Structural superlubricity is a fundamentally important research topic in the area of tribology. Van der Waals heterojunctions of 2D materials are an ideal system for achieving structural superlubricity and possessing potentially a wide range of applications in the future due to their ultra-flat and incommensurate crystal interfaces. Here we briefly introduce the origin and mechanism of structural superlubricity and summarize the representative experimental results, in which the coefficient of friction has achieved the order of 10−5. Furthermore, we analyze the factors affecting structural superlubricity of 2D materials, including dynamic reconstruction of interfaces, edge effects, interfacial adsorption, etc, and give a perspective on how to realize the macroscopic expansion and where it can be applied in practice.