News Network of Tsinghua University, March 2 -- For a considerable period, friction and wear have posed significant obstacles to the advancement of precision machinery and electromechanical systems. Structural superlubricity (SSL), an exceptional interfacial state, allows for zero wear, zero static friction, and friction coefficients that approach zero when two solid surfaces slide directly against each other without any lubrication. Traditionally, the contact scale at which SSL could be achieved was confined to the nanoscale and microscale domains, which curtailed its potential applications and rendered the "scale barrier" a crucial obstacle. Recently, the research team, spearheaded by Academician Zheng Quanshui and Assistant Professor Peng Deli from the Tsinghua Shenzhen International Graduate School, successfully realized robust SSL at the macroscale level. This breakthrough has overcome the aforementioned scientific hurdle and ushered SSL into the realm of macroscopic phenomena.
