Mechanism of fracture of surface contact area during atomic-scale peeling of graphene sheet

抄録

Graphene is a highly promising material for its electrical properties and elastic deformation which enable the control of various material properties. In previous studies, the atomic-scale peeling of graphene adsorbed onto the graphite surface, are performed, focusing on its sliding and deformation during the process. However, elementary peeling process of the graphene sheet has yet to be clarified. Therefore, we numerically studied the mechanism of fracture of the surface contact area of the graphene/graphene interface during the peeling process using molecular mechanics simulation. In this work, the graphene sheet is regarded as series of carbon atomic arrays. Nearest neighboring four arrays of carbon atom within the graphene sheet show quasi periodical behavior. It is also found that the peeling characteristics are due to the periodical discrete slips between neighboring metastable sites. Similar peeling features are obtained for various sizes of rectangular graphene sheet.