Atomic-Scale Peeling of Graphene
We report the atomic-scale peeling of a single-layer graphene on a graphite substrate, in which stick-slip sliding of the single-layer graphene occurs at the atomic scale while maintaining AB-stacking registry with the graphite substrate. The peeling force curve clearly exhibits a transition from su...
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| Published in | Applied physics express Vol. 5; no. 6; pp. 065102 - 065102-3 |
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| Main Authors | , , , , , |
| Format | Journal Article |
| Language | English |
| Published |
The Japan Society of Applied Physics
01.06.2012
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| Online Access | Get full text |
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| Summary: | We report the atomic-scale peeling of a single-layer graphene on a graphite substrate, in which stick-slip sliding of the single-layer graphene occurs at the atomic scale while maintaining AB-stacking registry with the graphite substrate. The peeling force curve clearly exhibits a transition from surface-contact to line-contact between the graphene and graphite surfaces. The amplitude of the peeling force depends on the lattice orientation of the surface, which is affected by the sliding force at the interface between the graphene and graphite surfaces. This study of peeling at the atomic scale will clarify the relationship among peeling, friction, adhesion, and superlubricity. |
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| Bibliography: | Preparation of SL-graphene and graphene tip. (a) Optical microscopy image of relatively large ML-graphene on top of oxidized Si wafer that locally includes SL-graphene. (b) and (c) Raman spectroscopy data and AFM image of SL-graphene on oxidized Si wafer, respectively. (d) SEM image of graphene tip. (e) Schematic of peeling experiment. Vertical force--distance curve. (a) Vertical force--distance curve obtained using SL-graphene, where black and red lines represent adhesion and peeling, respectively. The conformational configurations of the SL-graphene during peeling are depicted in the figure. (b) Vertical force--distance curve obtained using 50-nm-thick graphite flake, where black and red lines represent adhesion and peeling, respectively. Atomic-scale vertical force. Atomic-scale vertical force (peeling force) $F_{z}$ at surface-contact regions A and B in Fig. (a), which represent surface-contact areas distant from and near the line-contact area in the inset of Fig. (a), respectively, where the broken lines represent the smoothed vertical force curve. $\Delta Z_{\text{A}}$ and $\Delta Z_{\text{B}}$, and $\Delta F_{z}^{\text{A}}$ and $\Delta F_{z}^{\text{B}}$ represent the period and amplitude of the stick-slip structures in areas A and B, respectively. $\Delta X_{\text{A}}$ and $\Delta X_{\text{B}}$ represent the $x$-directional sliding lengths of the SL-graphene in areas A and B, respectively. Sliding force and lateral force. (a) Sliding force $F_{x}(z)$ and (b) lateral force $F_{y}(z)$ in surface-contact region B at atomic scale, where the blue line represents a single period of stick-slip in $F_{x}(z)$ and $F_{y}(z)$. $\Delta X_{[12\bar{3}0]}$ and $\Delta X_{[10\bar{1}0]}$ represent the periods of the stick-slip structures in the [$12\bar{3}0$] and [$10\bar{1}0$] directions, respectively. The lower part depicts the zigzag stick-slip motion of the SL-graphene (whose trajectory is illustrated by orange lines) between nearest-neighboring AB-stacking sites. $\Delta Y$ is the sliding length along the $y$-direction, which does not directly appear in the sliding force $F_{x}$ and lateral force $F_{y}$. |
| ISSN: | 1882-0778 1882-0786 |
| DOI: | 10.1143/APEX.5.065102 |