Friction
continues to account for the bulk of energy losses in
mechanical systems, with an estimated 23% of the world’s total
energy consumption used to overcome friction. Concentrated polymer
brushes (CPBs) have recently attracted significant scientific and
industrial attention, given their ability to achieve superlubricity
(i.e., coefficients of friction below 0.01); however, understanding
the mechanistic interactions underlying their wear performance has
been largely overlooked. Herein, we employ a custom-built optical
test apparatus to investigate the inter-dependencies between CPBs
and laser-produced surface texture (LST), assessing for the first
time the friction, film thickness, and wear behavior in situ and simultaneously.
Recent developments in picosecond laser etching allowed us to graft
CPBs atop the finest laser-etched matrix of micron-sized dimples reported
in literature to date. At low sliding speeds, combined CPB–LST
reduces the coefficient of friction to 0.0006, while increasing the
CPB durability by up to 34% through a lateral support mechanism offered
by the textured micro-features. Furthermore, the imaging results shed
light on CPB failure mechanisms. Both these mechanisms of lateral
support and failure propagation impact the wear resistance of CPBs
and are important in the development of CPBs for future applications
(e.g., in low-speed bearings functioning under controlled abrasive
wear conditions).