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Updated: Aug 24, 2026

Residue-Free Fabrication of van der Waals Heterostructures of Two-Dimensional Materials
Published on: July 18, 2025
Superlubricity of graphite
Martin Dienwiebel1, Gertjan S Verhoeven, Namboodiri Pradeep
1Kamerlingh Onnes Laboratory, Leiden University, P.O. Box 9504, 2300 RA Leiden, The Netherlands.
Abstract:
Using a home-built frictional force microscope that is able to detect forces in three dimensions with a lateral force resolution down to 15 pN, we have studied the energy dissipation between a tungsten tip sliding over a graphite surface in dry contact. By measuring atomic-scale friction as a function of the rotational angle between two contacting bodies, we show that the origin of the ultralow friction of graphite lies in the incommensurability between rotated graphite layers, an effect proposed under the name of "superlubricity" [Phys. Rev. B 41, 11 837 (1990)]].
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