Shear-induced lamellar ordering and interfacial sliding in amorphous carbon films: A superlow friction regime

► Shear-induced phase transition from disorder to lamellar ordering is observed. ► Well-separated, atomically smooth graphene-like interfacial layers are formed. ► Large repulsive/low shear forces exist between the graphene-like layers. ► A new superlow friction mechanism is proposed for amorphous carbon films.