Mitigating friction and wear by pre-designed or tribo-induced heterostructures: an overview

Frictional sliding creates distinct microstructural and chemical discontinuities between the subsurface layer and base materials, which dictate the friction and wear properties. Traditional methods for lowering friction and wear in metals primarily rely on strategies that lower the interfacial shear strength between the contacting discontinuities. Contrary to conventional wisdom, we propose an alternative strategy: introducing tribo-induced or pre-designed heterostructures to suppress tribo-induced strain localization, thus yielding superior tribological properties unachievable with their conventional homogeneous counterparts. Citing recent experimental examples, this review explores the multiscale heterogeneities contributing low friction and wear, by interlinking surface deformation mechanisms and applied tribological conditions.