Faculty
Brief Introduction
Dr. Cangyu Qu joined SUSTech as an assistant professor in August 2026. He is the PI of the Lab for Mechanics and Tribology at Micro/Nano Interfaces. Dr. Qu earned both his bachelor's and Ph.D. degrees in Mechanics from Tsinghua University, where his Ph.D. work received the Distinguished Doctoral Dissertation Award from the Chinese Society of Theoretical and Applied Mechanics (CSTAM). Prior to joining SUSTech, he was a postdoc at the University of Pennsylvania from 2021 to 2026.
Dr. Qu is broadly interested in nanotribology, nanomechanics, and two-dimensional materials. He has published 26 peer-reviewed articles with over 1,000 total citations, including in top journals such as Physical Review Letters, Science Advances, and Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS). His work has been highlighted by media including Nature Materials News & Views, Tsinghua News, and Penn Engineering News.
Research Interests
Tribology; Nanomechanics; Mechanochemistry; Nanoscale Fracture Mechanics; Two-Dimensional Materials
Educational Background
2013.9-2019.7, Tsinghua University, Ph.D.
2009.9-2013.7, Tsinghua University, B.S.
Professional Experience
2026.8-present, Southern University of Science and Technology, Assistant Professor
2021.8-2026.7, University of Pennsylvania, Postdoctoral Researcher
2019.8-2021.6, Institute of Superlubricity Technology, Research Associate
Selected Publications
1. Qu, C., Carpick, R.* (2025). Mechanochemistry at Nanoscale Metallic Contacts: How Stress and Voltage Drive Tribopolymerization. ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces, 17(40), 56593. (Front cover)
2. Qu, C., Fang, L., Carpick, R.* (2025). Contact Mechanics Correction of Activation Volume in Mechanochemistry. Physical Review B, 111(19), 195405.
3. Capaldi, L.N., Yuan, L., Qu, C., Sánchez, D.A., Carpick, R.W.* and Tertuliano, O.A.*, (2025). High-Throughput Formation of 3D van der Waals Auto-Kirigami. Nano Letters, 25(10), 3964.
4. Peng, D., Wang, Y., Li, H., Wu, Z., Yang, X., Huang, X., Xiang, X., Nie, J., Qu, C., Cao, W., Wu, M., Ouyang, W., Liu, Z., Ma, M., Ding, F., Liu, Y., Xu, Z.*, Zheng, Q.* (2025). Structural superlubric slidevices. Device. (Published online)
5. Yang, D., Qu, C.*, Gongyang, Y., Zheng, Q.* (2023). Manipulation and Characterization of Submillimeter Shearing Contacts in Graphite by the Micro-Dome Technique. ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces, 15(37), 44563.
6. Qu, C.*, Shi, D., Chen, L., Wu, Z., Wang, J., Shi, S., Gao, E., Xu, Z., Zheng, Q.* (2022). Anisotropic Fracture of Graphene Revealed by Surface Steps on Graphite. Physical Review Letters, 129(2), 026101.
7. Wang, K., He, Y., Cao, W., Wang, J., Qu, C., Chai, M., Liu, Y., Zheng, Q., Ma, M.* Structural superlubricity with a contaminant-rich interface. Journal of the Mechanics and Physics of Solids, 169, 105063 (2022).
8. Jia, X., Shao, Q., Xu, Y., Li, R., Huang, K., Guo, Y., Qu, C., Gao, E.* (2021). Elasticity-Based Exfoliability Measure for High-Throughput Computational Exfoliation of Two-Dimensional Materials. npj Computational Materials, 7 (1), 211.
9. He, Y., Li, H., Qu, C., Cao, W.*, & Ma, M.* (2021). Recent understanding of solid-liquid friction in ionic liquids. Green Chemical Engineering, 2(2), 145–157.
10. He, Y., Shi, D., Qu, C., Xu, Z., Chen, L., Wang, Y., Yu, Z., & Ma, M.* (2021). Diffusion Induced Different Distributions of Sulfur Clusters on Suspended and Supported Graphene. The Journal of Physical Chemistry C, 125(21), 11722.
11. Qu, C., Wang, K., Wang, J., Gongyang, Y., Carpick, R., Urbakh, M., Zheng, Q.* (2020). Origin of Friction in Superlubric Graphite Contacts. Physical Review Letters, 125(12), 126102.
12. Wang, K., Qu, C.*, Wang, J., Quan, B., Zheng, Q.* (2020). Characterization of a Microscale Superlubric Graphite Interface. Physical Review Letters, 125(2), 026101. (Editors’ suggestion)
13. Qu, C., Xiang, X., Ma, M., Zheng, Q.* (2020). Controlled Movements in Superlubric MEMS. Journal of Harbin Institute of Technology (New Series), 27(3), 45.
14. Zhao, S., Shi, S., Xia, K., Wang, T., Chai, M., Zhang, Y., Qu, C.*, Zheng, Q.* (2020). Scratching of Graphene-Coated Cu Substrates Leads to Hardened Cu Interfaces with Enhanced Lubricity. ACS Applied Nano Materials, 3(2), 1992.
15. Peng, D., Wu, Z., Shi, D., Qu, C., Jiang, H., Song, Y., Ma, M., Aeppli, G., Urbakh, M., Zheng, Q.* (2020). Load-induced dynamical transitions at graphene interfaces. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. 117(23) 12618.
16. Song, Y., Qu, C., Ma, M.* & Zheng, Q. (2020). Structural Superlubricity Based on Crystalline Materials. Small. 16(15), 1903018.
17. Liu, B., Wang, J., Zhao, S., Qu, C., Liu, Y., Ma, L., Zhang, Z., Liu, K., Zheng, Q., Ma, M.* (2020). Negative friction coefficient in microscale graphite/mica layered heterojunctions. Science Advances, 6(16), eaaz6787.
18. Gongyang, Y., Ouyang, W.*, Qu, C., Urbakh, M., Quan, B., Ma, M.*, & Zheng, Q. (2020). Temperature and velocity dependent friction of a microscale graphite-DLC heterostructure. Friction, 8(2), 462–470.
19. Qu, C., Shi, S., Ma, M., Zheng, Q.* (2019). Rotational Instability in Superlubric Joints. Physical Review Letters, 122(24), 246101. (Highlighted by Nature Materials)
20. Qu, C., Cao, W., Liu, B., Wang, A., Xie, F., Ma, M., Shan, W., Urbakh, M., Zheng, Q.* (2019). Direct Measurement of Adhesions of Liquids on Graphite. The Journal of Physical Chemistry C, 123(18), 11671.
21. Wang, K., Qu, C., Wang, J., Ouyang, W., Ma, M.*, Zheng, Q.* (2019). Strain Engineering Modulates Graphene Interlayer Friction by Moiré Patterns Evolution. ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces, 11, 36169.
22. Wang, J., Cao, W., Song, Y., Qu, C., Zheng, Q., Ma, M.* (2019). Generalized Scaling Law of Structural Superlubricity. Nano Letters. 19, 7735.
23. Qu, C., Liu, B., Ma, M., Zheng, Q.* (2018). Design and Optimization of the Diamagnetic Lateral Force Calibration Method. Review of Scientific Instruments, 89(11), 113704.
24. Gongyang, Y., Qu, C., Zhang, S., Ma, M.*, & Zheng, Q.* (2018). Eliminating delamination of graphite sliding on diamond-like carbon. Carbon, 132, 444.
25. Liu, B., Wang, J., Peng, X., Qu, C., Ma, M.*, & Zheng, Q. (2018). Direct fabrication of graphite-mica heterojunction and in situ control of their relative orientation. Materials & Design, 160, 371–376.
26. Shan, S., Kang, S. H., Wang, P., Qu, C., Shian, S., Chen, E. R., Bertoldi, K.* (2014). Harnessing multiple folding mechanisms in soft periodic structures for tunable control of elastic waves. Advanced Functional Materials, 24(31), 4935.
Research ID:
https://orcid.org/my-orcid?orcid=0000-0001-6552-4284
Google Scholar：
https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=fSUo-qEAAAAJ&hl=en&oi=ao
lab website：