Understanding and Preventing Lubrication Failure at the Carbon Atomic Steps (Small 37/2023)

Carbon Atomic StepsAt the graphene step edge, the armchair (AC) structure gives only a minor topographic effect on friction, while the zigzag (ZZ) structure induces friction two orders of magnitude larger than the basal friction. The high‐friction ZZ edge becomes superlubricious through reconstructing to the (5,7) azulene‐like structure upon thermal annealing in an inert gas environment. More details can be found in article number 2301515 by Linmao Qian, Seong H. Kim, Lei Chen, and co‐workers.