Superlubricity of molybdenum disulfide subjected to large compressive strains

Abstract The friction between a molybdenum disulphide (MoS 2 ) nanoflake and MoS substrate was analyzed using modified Tomlinson model based on atomistic force fields. calculations performed in the study suggest that large deformations can induce dramatic decrease to produce so-called superlubricity. coefficient of decreases by 1–4 orders magnitude when high strain exceeding 0.1 is applied. This reduction strongly anisotropic. For example, most pronounced compressive regime slides along zigzag crystalline direction substrate. In other sliding directions, will reduce its lowest value either tensile applied or armchair direction. anisotropy correlated with atomic configurations .