Tailoring nanoscale friction in MX2 transition metal dichalcogenides

The lattice dynamics of MX2 transition metal dichalcogenides can be controlled at the atomic scale to improve the frictional behavior. The electro-structural features of the M?X atomic pair are found to determine the lattice frequencies of those phonons affecting the macroscopic friction; the relative contributions are isolated through a new metric, named cophonicity, formulated at the quantum mechanical level. A new protocol to design new tribologic materials is thus propose