Defined as the state of ultra-low friction between surfaces in relative motion, the concept of superlubricity has received rapidly increasing interest over the past few years. Even though superlubricity was initially considered to be strictly limited to stringent environmental conditions (such as ultrahigh vacuum) and miniscule length scales (on the order of nanometers), recent developments have shown that it can indeed be realized under ambient conditions and at dimensions approaching the macroscale. In fact, researchers around the world are now pursuing a variety of strategies to establish robust states of superlubric sliding. While the traditional state of superlubric sliding attributed to structural mismatch (i.e. structural superlubricity) can be realized at atomically flat interfaces formed by solid surfaces and, in particular, 2D materials, superlubricity achieved via alternative means, including but not limited to the use of liquid lubricants and exotic proposals such as quantum superlubricity, is also gaining attention.

Despite the accelerated rate of progress in fundamental superlubricity research, the transition from basic science to technologically relevant applications, with crucial implications for energy savings, requires further concentrated effort from the scientific community. More studies need to be performed to define the physical limits of superlubricity, in terms of environmental factors such as temperature, as well as operational parameters such as sliding speed and contact size. Additionally, more exploratory work needs to be performed to diversify the family of material systems that exhibit superlubric behaviour. Finally, the demonstration of proof-of-principle superlubric mechanical systems is needed to take the first concrete steps from the lab toward technological applications. Motivated by this rationale, this Research Topic will present the latest superlubricity work from prominent researchers in the field, with the aim of providing a comprehensive view of the state of the art and perspectives on future directions.

We welcome Original Research, Review, Mini Review and Perspective articles on themes including, but not limited to:
• Structural Superlubricity
• Superlubricity of Two-Dimensional Materials and Heterostructures
• Liquid Superlubricity
• Thermolubricity
• Quantum Superlubricity
• Applications of Superlubricity
• Theoretical Aspects of Superlubricity

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Frontiers in Chemistry

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