Emerging Trends in Tribology: Innovations in Composite Materials, Surface Coating Technologies, and Advanced Lubrication Strategies

Tribology, the study of friction, wear, and lubrication, is fundamental to mechanical engineering. Driven by a global demand for energy-efficient, durable, and high-performance components, the field is witnessing significant interest in novel materials, advanced surface engineering, and innovative lubrication strategies.
These advancements are crucial for reducing energy consumption, extending component lifespan, ensuring reliability, and ultimately fostering sustainability and cost-effectiveness across diverse industrial sectors.

This Research Topic aims to comprehensively address the multifaceted challenges associated with minimizing friction and wear in mechanical systems. The primary goal is to curate cutting-edge research that explores innovative materials, advanced surface modifications, and intelligent lubrication technologies capable of significantly improving the performance, durability, and reliability of components. Beyond mere performance enhancement, the focus extends to understanding fundamental wear mechanisms and developing predictive models that can guide the design of next-generation tribological systems.

We invite high-quality, original research and review articles that explore recent and emerging advances in tribology, encompassing, but not limited to, the following key areas:

• Novel Materials for Tribological Applications:
o Development and characterization of advanced engineering alloys, high-performance ceramics, polymers, and polymer composites with enhanced wear resistance and low friction.
o Design of functionally graded materials, self-healing materials, and smart materials responsive to environmental stimuli for adaptive tribological performance.
o Exploration of nanocomposites, graphene, 2D materials, and other advanced carbon-based materials for superior tribological properties.

• Advanced Surface Engineering and Coatings:
o Innovative surface texturing and patterning techniques (e.g., laser texturing, etching, additive manufacturing for tailored surfaces) to control friction, promote lubrication, and enhance wear resistance.
o Development and characterization of thin films and coatings, including Diamond-Like Carbon (DLC), nitrides, carbides, oxides, and multi-layered coatings, for improved durability, corrosion resistance, and specific tribological functions.
o Surface functionalization and chemical treatments for modifying surface energy and adhesion characteristics.

• Innovative Lubrication Strategies:
o Design and synthesis of novel lubricants, including ionic liquids, bio-lubricants, green lubricants, and environmentally friendly additives.
o Development of self-lubricating systems, smart lubricants, and active lubrication control mechanisms.
o Investigation of solid lubrication, dry lubrication, and hybrid lubrication systems for challenging environments (e.g., high temperature, vacuum, clean rooms).

• Fundamental Understanding and Modelling of Tribological Phenomena:
o Advanced experimental techniques for in-situ and operando characterization of tribological interfaces.
o Multiscale computational modeling (e.g., molecular dynamics, finite element analysis, multi-physics simulations) to predict friction, wear, and lubrication behavior.
o Understanding of wear mechanisms (abrasion, adhesion, fatigue, erosion, corrosion-wear) at different length scales and under various operating conditions.
• Tribological Solutions for Challenging Environments and Specific Applications:
o Addressing tribology in extreme conditions (high/low temperature, high pressure, corrosive media, radiation, vacuum).
o Tribological considerations for emerging technologies such as renewable energy systems, electric vehicles, biomedical implants, additive manufacturing, and space exploration.


By fostering interdisciplinary dialogue and bridging the gap between fundamental material innovation and practical engineering applications, this Research Topic aims to equip the engineering community with robust, sustainable, and efficient solutions, driving the development of next-generation mechanical systems capable of meeting the demands of the 21st century.

Article types and fees

This Research Topic accepts the following article types, unless otherwise specified in the Research Topic description:

• Brief Research Report
• Editorial
• FAIR² Data
• FAIR² DATA Direct Submission
• Hypothesis and Theory
• Methods
• Mini Review
• Opinion
• Original Research
• ... View all formats

Articles that are accepted for publication by our external editors following rigorous peer review incur a publishing fee charged to Authors, institutions, or funders.

Article types

This Research Topic accepts the following article types, unless otherwise specified in the Research Topic description:

• Brief Research Report
• Editorial
• FAIR² Data
• FAIR² DATA Direct Submission
• Hypothesis and Theory
• Methods
• Mini Review
• Opinion
• Original Research
• Perspective
• Review
• Systematic Review

Keywords: Tribology, Surface engineering, Composite materials, Lubrication strategies, Wear mechanism

Important note: All contributions to this Research Topic must be within the scope of the section and journal to which they are submitted, as defined in their mission statements. Frontiers reserves the right to guide an out-of-scope manuscript to a more suitable section or journal at any stage of peer review.