Origin of friction and the new frictionless technology-Superlubricity: Advancements and future outlook

Friction is a phenomenon that exists extensively in nature and industry; it has proven necessary in daily life and beneficial in energy scavenging but is also alleged to be the main cause of wear failures and energy consumption. Therefore, scientists have long worked on the origin of friction, trying in some instances to verify the possibility of achieving an absolute friction-free state, and rapid progress has been made in recent decades. In this article, we review the research on the friction mechanism and the development of a new burgeoning technique named "superlubricity", which has been demonstrated as an attractive way to achieve ultralow friction and wear with almost no energy dissipation. It is estimated that the future application of superlubricity could result in an economic benefit of trillions of US dollars annually worldwide, as well as having great energy saving potential.