Mechanical properties and fracture patterns of graphene (graphitic) nanowiggles

RA Bizao and T Botari and E Perim and NM Pugno and DS Galvao, CARBON, 119, 431-437 (2017).

DOI: 10.1016/j.carbon.2017.04.018

Graphene nanowiggles (GNW) are graphene-based nanostructures obtained by making alternated regular cuts in pristine graphene nanoribbons. GNW were recently synthesized and it was demonstrated that they exhibit tunable electronic and magnetic properties by just varying their shape. Here, we have investigated the mechanical properties and fracture patterns of a large number of GNW of different shapes and sizes using fully atomistic reactive molecular dynamics simulations. Our results show that the GNW mechanical properties are strongly dependent on its shape and size and, as a general trend narrow sheets have larger ultimate strength and Young's modulus than wide ones. The estimated Young's modulus values were found to be in a range of approximate to 100 - 1000 GPa and the ultimate strength in a range of approximate to 20 - 110 GPa, depending on GNW shape. Also, super-ductile behavior under strain was observed for some structures. (C) 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

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