Fracture of polycrystalline graphene membranes by in situ nanoindentation in a scanning electron microscope

• Published in: Physica status solidi. PSS-RRL. Rapid research letters Vol. 9; no. 10; pp. 564 - 569
• Main Authors: Suk, Ji Won, Mancevski, Vladimir, Hao, Yufeng, Liechti, Kenneth M., Ruoff, Rodney S.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Berlin WILEY-VCH Verlag Berlin GmbH 01.10.2015; WILEY‐VCH Verlag Berlin GmbH; Wiley Subscription Services, Inc
• Subjects: Chemical vapor deposition; Crystallization; Failure; Grain boundaries; Graphene; Marking; Membranes; Nanoindentation; Scanning electron microscopy
• ISSN: 1862-6254; 1862-6270
• DOI: 10.1002/pssr.201510244

Failure of polycrystalline graphene grown by chemical vapor deposition was investigated by nanoindentation in a scanning electron microscope. Circular graphene membranes were subject to central point loads using a nanomanipulator combined with an atomic force microscope cantilever as a force sensor. The grain boundaries of the polycrystalline graphene were visualized by Raman spectroscopy coupled with a carbon isotope labeling technique. Graphene membranes without any grain boundary had a failure strength of 45.4 ± 10.4 GPa, compared to 16.4 ± 5.1 GPa for those with grain boundaries when a Young's modulus was assumed to be 1 TPa. (© 2015 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH &Co. KGaA, Weinheim) The failure strength of polycrystalline monolayer graphene grown by chemical vapor deposition is investigated by in situ nanoindentation in a scanning electron microscope. By visualizing the grain boundaries with carbon isotope labeling and Raman mapping techniques, the mechanical property of monolayer graphene is correlated with the grain boundary density.