Angstrom-Scale Transparent Overcoats: Interfacial Nitrogen-Driven Atomic Intermingling Promotes Lubricity and Surface Protection of Ultrathin Carbon

Lubricity, a phenomenon which enables the ease of motion of objects, and wear resistance, which minimizes material damage or degradation, are important fundamental characteristics for sustainable technology developments. Ultrathin coatings that promote lubricity and wear resistance are of huge importance for a number of applications, including magnetic storage and micro-/nanoelectromechanical systems. Conventional ultrathin coatings have, however, reached their limit. Graphene-based materials that have shown promise to reduce friction and wear have many intrinsic limitations such as high temperature and substrate-specific growth. To address these concerns, a great deal of research is currently ongoing to optimize graphene-based materials. Here we discover that angstrom-thick carbon (8 angstrom) significantly reduces interfacial friction and wear. This lubricant shows ultrahigh optical transparency and can be directly deposited on a wide range of surfaces at room temperature. Experiments combined with molecular dynamics simulations reveal that the lubricating efficacy of 8 angstrom carbon is further improved via interfacial nitrogen.