A unified framework of slip controlled bending and rippled superlattice design of few-layer graphene

• Published in: Applied surface science Vol. 613; p. 155979
• Main Authors: Chen, Yingbin, Huang, Luying, Hu, Chongze, Dumitrică, Traian, Xu, Hao
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Elsevier B.V 15.03.2023
• Subjects: Atomic simulations; Bending; Few-layer graphene; Interlayer slip; Rippled superlattice; Bending; Few-layer graphene; Interlayer slip; Rippled superlattice; Atomic simulations
• ISSN: 0169-4332; 1873-5584
• DOI: 10.1016/j.apsusc.2022.155979

[Display omitted] •Slip ratio determines the deformation mechanism during the bending of few-layer graphene.•Interlayer spacing adjustment plays important role in tuning the in-plane strain.•The non-classical low-energy nanometer-scale rippled superlattice has the minimum theoretical periodicity. The out-of-plane bending of few-layer graphene (FLG) and other 2D materials have attracted increasing attention due to its practical significance in flexible electronics and soft robotics. Extensive studies have been carried out establishing the crucial role interlayer slip plays in the bending of FLG. Yet in previous analysis, slip was treated as the consequence of bending, rather than an independent variable, which makes sense physically but shadows part of its functionality. Here through a novel atomic simulation scheme, we select desired slip ratios r, a term we defined to quantify the ratio of the actual amount of slip to the maximum amount. The slip ratio serves as a gauge for determining the predominant deformation mechanism in curved FLG. We identified three regimes characterized with critical slip ratios rc* and rth. When r > rc*, FLG behaves like the monolayer, and curvature is the primary quantity during its deformation. As r drops below rc*, the accumulated in-plane strain imposes more impact, while when r < rth, buckling and delamination may occur. By manipulating slip, we predict non-classical low-energy rippled superlattice of FLG, characterized by minimum periodicities, as small as a few nanometers, smaller than the FLG thickness itself.