Strong attractive interaction between two clean diamond (001) slabs turns repulsive upon the hydrogenation of surfaces. This repulsive interaction serves as if a boundary lubricant and prevents the sliding surfaces from being closer to each other even under high normal forces. As a result, calculated lateral force variation generated during sliding has small magnitude under high constant loading forces. Superlow friction observed earlier between diamondlike carbon-coated surfaces can be understood by the steady repulsive interaction between sliding surfaces, as well as strong and stiff carbon-carbon and carbon-hydrogen bonds which do not favor energy dissipation. In ambient conditions, the steady repulsive interaction is, however, destroyed by oxygen atoms which chemically modify those stiff surface bonds.

• Received 16 August 2004

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevB.70.241401