Design and fabrication of laminated-graded zirconia self-lubricating composites

► A new design method to achieve the integration of structure and lubricating function in ceramic was proposed. ► The concept of functionally graded material (FGM) and the bionic design of ceramic were combined. ► Gradient exponent p was defined to determine the distribution of solid lubricant (SL) in the materials. ► ZrO2(3Y)-Al2O3/ZrO2(3Y)/SL FGM shows excellent self-lubricating performance at extremely wide operating temperature range. ► The bending strength of the prepared FGM is four times higher than that of conventional ZrO2(3Y)/SL composites when p = 2.