Boundary Lubricants with Exceptionally Low Friction Coefficients Based on 2D Close‐Packed Phosphatidylcholine Liposomes

Abstract

Liposomes of hydrogenated soy phosphatidylcholine (PC) lipids spontaneously self-assemble in close-packed layers on solid surfaces to form boundary lubricants that reduce the coefficient μ of sliding friction between them down to μ ≈ 10−4 – 2 × 10−5, at pressures up to ca. 12 MPa. This strikingly low value is attributed to hydration-lubrication by the PC headgroups exposed at the surfaces of the gel-phase vesicles. Detailed facts of importance to specialist readers are published as ”Supporting Information”. Such documents are peer-reviewed, but not copy-edited or typeset. They are made available as submitted by the authors. Please note: The publisher is not responsible for the content or functionality of any supporting information supplied by the authors. Any queries (other than missing content) should be directed to the corresponding author for the article.