Super-slippery Carbon Nanotubes: Symmetry Breaking breaks friction

TL;DR

This paper demonstrates that the super-slippery behavior of multi-wall carbon nanotubes arises from symmetry breaking, with incommensurate walls exhibiting frictionless sliding as a Goldstone mode, guided by universal tribology principles.

Contribution

It reveals the fundamental role of symmetry breaking in achieving ultra-low friction in carbon nanotubes and introduces universal principles for lubricant selection.

Findings

Friction in multi-wall carbon nanotubes is extremely low due to symmetry breaking.

Incommensurate walls exhibit super-slippery sliding as a Goldstone mode.

Universal tribology principles can guide lubricant choice for low-friction applications.

Abstract

The friction between the walls of multi-wall carbon nanotubes is shown to be extremely low in general, with important details related to the specific choice of the walls. This is governed by a simple expression revealing that the phenomenon is a profound consequence of the specific symmetry breaking: super-slippery sliding of the incommensurate walls is a Goldstone mode. Three universal principles of tribology, offering a recipe for the lubricant selection are emphasized.