The high-speed sliding friction of graphene and novel routes to persistent superlubricity

Recent experiments on microscopic graphite mesas demonstrate reproducible high-speed microscale superlubricity, even under ambient conditions. Here, we explore the same phenomenon on the nanoscale, by studying a graphene flake sliding on a graphite substrate, using molecular dynamics. We show that superlubricity is punctuated by high-friction transients as the flake rotates through successive crystallographic alignments with the substrate. Further, we introduce two novel routes to suppress frictional scattering and achieve persistent superlubricity. We use graphitic nanoribbons to eliminate frictional scattering by constraining the flake rotation, an approach we call frictional waveguides. We can also effectively suppress frictional scattering by biaxial stretching of the graphitic substrate. These new routes to persistent superlubricity at the nanoscale may guide the design of ultra-low dissipation nanomechanical devices.