“…The passivation of dangling bonds by different agents (H, hydroxyl (-OH), carboxyl (-COOH), etc. ), graphitisation, and the formation of a self-generated easy-shearing transfer layer consisting of carbon-based structures, oxides, water, etc., are the main mechanisms explaining the excellent tribological properties of DLC and ta-C coatings, including superlubricity (COF < 0.01 [18]) [14,[19][20][21][22][23]. Hydrogen and oxygen thus play important roles in understanding the friction mechanisms of DLC and ta-C coatings.…”