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  • Open Access

Cold Self-Lubrication of Sliding Ice

Achraf Atila, Sergey V. Sukhomlinov, and Martin H. Müser*

  • Department of Material Science and Engineering, Saarland University, Saarbrücken, 66123, Germany

  • *Contact author: martin.mueser@mx.uni-saarland.de
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Phys. Rev. Lett. 135, 066204 – Published 7 August, 2025

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1103/1plj-7p4z

Abstract

The low kinetic friction between ice and numerous counterbodies is commonly attributed to an interfacial water layer, which is believed to originate from preexisting surface water or from melt water induced by high contact pressures or frictional heat. However, even the currently leading theory of frictional melting appears to defy direct experimental verification. Here we present molecular simulations of ice interfaces that reveal that ice surfaces liquefy without melting thermodynamically but predominantly by cold, displacement-driven amorphization. Despite effective self-lubrication, very small ice friction is found to require water to slip past a hydrophobic counterface—or an excess amount of water, produced by, e.g., extreme sliding velocities.

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Phys. Rev. Lett. 135, 066204– Published 7 August, 2025
  • Received 7 November 2024
  • Accepted 10 June 2025
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Published by the American Physical Society under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International license. Further distribution of this work must maintain attribution to the author(s) and the published article’s title, journal citation, and DOI.

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