Professor Nikolai Brilliantov delivered a keynote lecture at the international Structural Superlubricity 2025 (SSL2025) conference held on January 19–22, 2025, in Shenzhen, China (SSL2025). His presentation, titled “Atomistic Mechanism of Friction Force Independence on the Normal Load for Dynamic Structural Superlubricity”, showcased findings published in Physical Review Letters (DOI: 10.1103/PhysRevLett.131.266201).

What is Structural Superlubricity?
Structural superlubricity is a unique physical phenomenon where two perfectly smooth surfaces slide past each other with almost no friction. This occurs due to a mismatch in the atomic structures of the materials, minimizing their interaction. The phenomenon holds great potential for energy-efficient technologies, ranging from microdevices to large-scale industrial systems.

Key Research Findings
Professor Brilliantov’s team focused on the soliton smooth sliding mode, one of the most promising mechanisms for applying superlubricity in practice. Their study:
— experimentally confirmed that friction force is independent of the normal load, defying the Amontons-Coulomb law;
— demonstrated a linear increase in friction force with rising speed and temperature;
— identified a novel friction mechanism, “synchronous surface fluctuations”, driven by thermal processes that explain the unique properties of superlubricity.

“Our research shows that dynamic structural superlubricity can be achieved even at relatively large contact areas, making it applicable to various industrial tasks,” said Nikolai Brilliantov. “We also proposed a theoretical explanation of this phenomenon, supported by numerical simulations and experimental data.”