Work

Edge-stress-induced spontaneous twisting of graphene nanoribbons

Year: 2012

Type: article

Abstract: We present a continuum model for spontaneous twisting of graphene nanoribbons driven by compressive edge stresses. Based on a geometrically nonlinear theory of plates, we identify scaling laws for the dependence of twist angles on ribbon width. Strikingly, we find the existence of a critical width below which a ribbon will not undergo spontaneous twisting, preferring an in-plane stretching mode instead. The model predictions are shown to be in excellent qualitative and quantitative agreement with density-functional tight-binding simulations. More generally, our model provides a unifying picture of twisting in graphene nanoribbons with different edge orientations and chemical functionalizations that have been reported recently in the literature.

Source: Journal of Applied Physics

DOI: 10.1063/1.3689814

Authors: Ashwin Ramasubramaniam, Pekka Koskinen, Oleg O. Kit, Vivek B. Shenoy

Institutions: University of Massachusetts Amherst, University of Jyväskylä, Brown University

Language: English

Topic: Graphene research and applications

Subfield: Materials Chemistry

Field: Materials Science

Domain: Physical Sciences

Open Access status: green

Funders: University of Massachusetts Amherst, Army Research Office

Award: G3118954227