A Systematic Review of the Recent Advances in Superlubricity Research

Abstract

Friction and the wear caused by friction will not only lead to energy dissipation, but will also cause damage to the function of mechanical parts, affecting the precision and lifespan of mechanical devices. Superlubricity as an ideal state of zero friction has become a hot research topic in recent years. There have been many reviews on the concept, origin, and research progress of superlubricity, but, among them, there are more presentations on the research status of solid superlubricity and liquid superlubricity; however, the theoretical summarization of solid–liquid combined superlubricity and high-temperature superlubricity is still imperfect and lacks a systematic and comprehensive review. The mechanism of superlubricity is not explicitly presented in many reviews, which are clearly summarized in this paper. This paper introduces superlubricity from friction, and then introduces the origin of superlubricity, and presents the research progress on superlubricityby separating it into in four categories: liquid superlubricity, solid superlubricity, solid–liquid combined superlubricity, and high-temperature superlubricity. By analyzing the superlubricity system, the mechanism of realizing various types of superlubricity, such as incommensurability, hydration, and oxidation, is summarized. Based on the research progress of superlubricity, the development prospects, opportunities, and challenges of superlubricity in the future are discussed.