Periodic Reporting for period 3 - SSLiP (Scaling-up SuperLubricity into Persistence)
Okres sprawozdawczy: 2024-10-01 do 2025-03-31
Friction and wear between moving parts contribute significantly to the world's energy consumption. To address this challenge, SSLiP proposes a novel approach that utilizes the concept of structural superlubricity, which occurs at a lattice misfit between clean, flat, rigid crystalline surfaces, resulting in extremely low friction. However, this effect has only been observed in the micrometer scale and laboratory times.
To bring this concept to the macroscale and enable real-life applications, SSLiP will use tribo-colloids, which are colloidal particles coated in 2D materials. These tribo-colloids will produce a dynamic network of superlubric contacts, replicating the low friction effect on larger length scales. The team will also develop regenerative tribochemical and structural mechanisms to overcome the inherent degradation and failure modes of the network.
Through careful design of the coatings, carrier fluid, and mechanical properties of the core particles, the sliding chemistry and collective behavior of the colloids can be controlled. The team will synthesize and experiment with individual contacts, visualize colloid dynamics during sliding, and characterize the chemical properties in-situ. These experiments will be combined with multiscale simulations and theory to develop a coherent framework.
The ultralow friction technology developed by SSLiP will have a significant impact on reducing energy loss in products, such as passenger cars responsible for approximately 2 billion tonnes of CO2 per year, and increasing the lifetime of parts. The technology will also enable new possibilities, such as much higher writing speeds in hard disks. SSLiP aims to realize macroscale, industrially relevant superlubricity defined as a net friction coefficient of <0.01 operating at 10’s MPa nominal pressure that persists without degradation under boundary lubrication conditions.
To bring this concept to the macroscale and enable real-life applications, SSLiP will use tribo-colloids, which are colloidal particles coated in 2D materials. These tribo-colloids will produce a dynamic network of superlubric contacts, replicating the low friction effect on larger length scales. The team will also develop regenerative tribochemical and structural mechanisms to overcome the inherent degradation and failure modes of the network.
Through careful design of the coatings, carrier fluid, and mechanical properties of the core particles, the sliding chemistry and collective behavior of the colloids can be controlled. The team will synthesize and experiment with individual contacts, visualize colloid dynamics during sliding, and characterize the chemical properties in-situ. These experiments will be combined with multiscale simulations and theory to develop a coherent framework.
The ultralow friction technology developed by SSLiP will have a significant impact on reducing energy loss in products, such as passenger cars responsible for approximately 2 billion tonnes of CO2 per year, and increasing the lifetime of parts. The technology will also enable new possibilities, such as much higher writing speeds in hard disks. SSLiP aims to realize macroscale, industrially relevant superlubricity defined as a net friction coefficient of <0.01 operating at 10’s MPa nominal pressure that persists without degradation under boundary lubrication conditions.
Friction and wear between moving parts contribute significantly to the world's energy consumption. The SSLiP (Scaling up Superlubricity into Persistence) project is focused on advancing the field of superlubricity and its practical applications. Superlubricity is a state in which friction between two surfaces is almost eliminated (friction coefficient less than 0.01) resulting in exceptional efficiency, reduced wear, and extended component lifespan. The SSLiP project aims to scale up and integrate superlubricity into real-world systems, opening new possibilities in diverse industries. To address this challenge, SSLiP proposes a novel approach that utilizes the concept of structural superlubricity, which occurs at a lattice misfit between clean, flat, rigid crystalline surfaces, resulting in extremely low friction. However, this effect has only been observed in the micrometre scale and laboratory times.
To bring this concept to the macroscale and enable real-life applications, SSLiP will use tribo-colloids, which are colloidal particles coated with 2D materials and micro-structured surfaces coated with 2D materials. These two approached produce a dynamic network of superlubric contacts and static superlubric micro contacts respectively, replicating the low friction effect on larger length scales. The team will also develop regenerative tribochemical and structural mechanisms to overcome the inherent degradation and failure modes of these contacts. Through careful design of the coatings, carrier fluid, and mechanical properties of the core particles, the sliding chemistry and collective behaviour of these systems can be controlled. The team will synthesize and experiment with individual contacts, visualize colloid dynamics during sliding, and characterize the chemical properties in-situ. These experiments are combined with multiscale simulations and theory to develop a coherent framework.
From our work in RP2 we have supported our candidate contact network systems with the following select highlights:
1. Advanced, scalable fabrication of meso-scale patterned superlubricious, functionalized surfaces based on PyC and PPF 2D-like pyrolyzed carbon
2. Single asperity superlubricious contact theoretical modelling and experimental characterization
3.Testing and simulation of functionalize, patterned surfaces
4. Visualization, testing and simulation of tribocolloid population contact networks
To bring this concept to the macroscale and enable real-life applications, SSLiP will use tribo-colloids, which are colloidal particles coated with 2D materials and micro-structured surfaces coated with 2D materials. These two approached produce a dynamic network of superlubric contacts and static superlubric micro contacts respectively, replicating the low friction effect on larger length scales. The team will also develop regenerative tribochemical and structural mechanisms to overcome the inherent degradation and failure modes of these contacts. Through careful design of the coatings, carrier fluid, and mechanical properties of the core particles, the sliding chemistry and collective behaviour of these systems can be controlled. The team will synthesize and experiment with individual contacts, visualize colloid dynamics during sliding, and characterize the chemical properties in-situ. These experiments are combined with multiscale simulations and theory to develop a coherent framework.
From our work in RP2 we have supported our candidate contact network systems with the following select highlights:
1. Advanced, scalable fabrication of meso-scale patterned superlubricious, functionalized surfaces based on PyC and PPF 2D-like pyrolyzed carbon
2. Single asperity superlubricious contact theoretical modelling and experimental characterization
3.Testing and simulation of functionalize, patterned surfaces
4. Visualization, testing and simulation of tribocolloid population contact networks
Self-assembled microsphere tribosurfaces by self-assembly and CVD deposition- This innovation is a process to produce mechanically stable, dense regular micropatterned surfaces of spherical bumps on the 0.1 to 10 μm scale with potentially superlubricious tribological performance rapidly over macroscopic areas. In consists of a liquid interface assembly and lift-off process followed by CVD conformal coating by a tribologically performant coating like pyrolytic carbon. It allows for rapid microscale shape optimization for delivering molecular superlubricious systems.
Tribocoining by scalable microcoining of 2D materials-new way to simultaneously precisely pattern a substrate with a tribologically beneficial structure, as well as mechanically process a deposited film of 2D-material nanosheets, increasing the film durability and tribological performance in a single integrated and scalable mechanical processing step. It rapidly forms a stiff substrate coated with a deposited nanosheet film through high pressure simultaneous indentation and moulding replicating the punch pattern.
Tribocoining by scalable microcoining of 2D materials-new way to simultaneously precisely pattern a substrate with a tribologically beneficial structure, as well as mechanically process a deposited film of 2D-material nanosheets, increasing the film durability and tribological performance in a single integrated and scalable mechanical processing step. It rapidly forms a stiff substrate coated with a deposited nanosheet film through high pressure simultaneous indentation and moulding replicating the punch pattern.