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Strain distribution in WS2 monolayers detected through Polarization-resolved Second Harmonic Generation
Authors:
George Kourmoulakis,
Sotiris Psilodimitrakopoulos,
George Miltos Maragkakis,
Leonidas Mouchliadis,
Antonios Michail,
Joseph A Christodoulides,
Manoj Tripathi,
Alan B Dalton,
John Parthenios,
Konstantinos Papagelis,
Emmanuel Stratakis,
George Kioseoglou
Abstract:
Two-dimensional (2D) graphene and graphene-related materials (GRMs) show great promise for future electronic devices. Nevertheless, GRMs result distinct properties under the influence of the substrate that serves as support through uneven compression/ elongation of GRMs surface atoms. Strain in GRM monolayers is the most common feature that alters the interatomic distances, band structure, providi…
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Two-dimensional (2D) graphene and graphene-related materials (GRMs) show great promise for future electronic devices. Nevertheless, GRMs result distinct properties under the influence of the substrate that serves as support through uneven compression/ elongation of GRMs surface atoms. Strain in GRM monolayers is the most common feature that alters the interatomic distances, band structure, providing a new degree of freedom that allows regulation of their electronic properties and introducing the field of straintronics. Having an all-optical detection, a minimally invasive tool that rapidly probes strain in large areas of GRM monolayers, would be of great importance in the research and development of novel 2D devices. Here, we use Polarization-resolved Second Harmonic Generation (P-SHG) optical imaging to identify strain distribution, induced in a single layer of WS2 placed on a pre-patterned Si/SiO2 substrate with cylindrical wells. By fitting the P-SHG data pixel-by-pixel, we produce spatially resolved images of the crystal armchair direction. In regions where the WS2 monolayer conforms to the pattern topography, a distinct cross-shaped pattern is evident in the armchair image owing to strain. The presence of strain in these regions is independently confirmed using a combination of atomic force microscopy and Raman mapping.
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Submitted 28 March, 2024;
originally announced March 2024.
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Biaxial Tensile Strain Enhances Electron Mobility of Monolayer Transition Metal Dichalcogenides
Authors:
Jerry A. Yang,
Robert K. A. Bennett,
Lauren Hoang,
Zhepeng Zhang,
Kamila J. Thompson,
Antonios Michail,
John Parthenios,
Konstantinos Papagelis,
Andrew J. Mannix,
Eric Pop
Abstract:
Strain engineering can modulate the material properties of two-dimensional (2D) semiconductors for electronic and optoelectronic applications. Recent theory and experiments have found that uniaxial tensile strain can improve the electron mobility of monolayer MoS$_2$, a 2D semiconductor, but the effects of biaxial strain on charge transport are not well-understood in 2D semiconductors. Here, we us…
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Strain engineering can modulate the material properties of two-dimensional (2D) semiconductors for electronic and optoelectronic applications. Recent theory and experiments have found that uniaxial tensile strain can improve the electron mobility of monolayer MoS$_2$, a 2D semiconductor, but the effects of biaxial strain on charge transport are not well-understood in 2D semiconductors. Here, we use biaxial tensile strain on flexible substrates to probe the electron mobility in monolayer WS$_2$ and MoS$_2$ transistors. This approach experimentally achieves ~2x higher on-state current and mobility with ~0.3% applied biaxial strain in WS$_2$, the highest mobility improvement at the lowest strain reported to date. We also examine the mechanisms behind this improvement through density functional theory simulations, concluding that the enhancement is primarily due to reduced intervalley electron-phonon scattering. These results underscore the role of strain engineering 2D semiconductors for flexible electronics, sensors, integrated circuits, and other optoelectronic applications.
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Submitted 28 November, 2023; v1 submitted 19 September, 2023;
originally announced September 2023.
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Biaxial strain tuning of exciton energy and polarization in monolayer WS2
Authors:
G. Kourmoulakis,
A. Michail,
I. Paradisanos,
X. Marie,
M. M. Glazov,
B. Jorissen,
L. Covaci,
E. Stratakis,
K. Papagelis,
J. Parthenios,
G. Kioseoglou
Abstract:
We perform micro-photoluminescence and Raman experiments to examine the impact of biaxial tensile strain on the optical properties of WS2 monolayers. A strong shift on the order of -130 meV per % of strain is observed in the neutral exciton emission at room temperature. Under near-resonant excitation we measure a monotonic decrease in the circular polarization degree under applied strain. We exper…
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We perform micro-photoluminescence and Raman experiments to examine the impact of biaxial tensile strain on the optical properties of WS2 monolayers. A strong shift on the order of -130 meV per % of strain is observed in the neutral exciton emission at room temperature. Under near-resonant excitation we measure a monotonic decrease in the circular polarization degree under applied strain. We experimentally separate the effect of the strain-induced energy detuning and evaluate the pure effect coming from biaxial strain. The analysis shows that the suppression of the circular polarization degree under biaxial strain is related to an interplay of energy and polarization relaxation channels as well as to variations in the exciton oscillator strength affecting the long-range exchange interaction.
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Submitted 24 July, 2023;
originally announced July 2023.
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Optical detection of strain and doping inhomogenieties in single layer MoS2
Authors:
Antonios Michail,
Nick Delikoukos,
John Parthenios,
Costas Galiotis,
Konstantinos Papagelis
Abstract:
Van der Waals single-layer materials are characterized by an inherent extremely low bending rigidity and therefore are prone to nanoscale structural modifications due to substrate interactions. Such interactions can induce excess charge concentration, conformational ripples and residual mechanical strain. In this work, we employed spatially resolved Raman and Photoluminescence images to investigat…
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Van der Waals single-layer materials are characterized by an inherent extremely low bending rigidity and therefore are prone to nanoscale structural modifications due to substrate interactions. Such interactions can induce excess charge concentration, conformational ripples and residual mechanical strain. In this work, we employed spatially resolved Raman and Photoluminescence images to investigate strain and doping inhomogeneities in a single layer exfoliated Molybdenum disulphide crystal. We have found that correlations between the spectral parameters of the most prominent Raman bands A1' and E' enable us to decouple and quantify strain and charge doping effects. In comparison with AFM topography, we show that the spatial distribution of the linewidth of the A-exciton peak is strain sensitive and can capture features smaller than the laser spot size. The presented optical analysis may have implications in the development of high-quality devices based on two-dimensional materials since structural and electronic modifications affect considerably their carrier mobility and conductivity.
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Submitted 26 April, 2018;
originally announced April 2018.
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Stress and charge transfer in uniaxially strained CVD graphene
Authors:
Milan Bousa,
George Anagnostopoulos,
Elena del Corro,
Karolina Drogowska,
Jan Pekarek,
Ladislav Kavan,
Martin Kalbac,
John Parthenios,
Konstantinos Papagelis,
Costas Galiotis,
Otakar Frank
Abstract:
Mechanical properties of graphene prepared by chemical vapor deposition (CVD) are not easily comparable to the properties of nearly perfect graphene prepared by mechanical cleavage. In this work, we attempt to investigate the mechanical performance of CVD graphene (simply supported or embedded in polymer matrix), transferred by two different techniques, under uniaxial loading with simultaneous in-…
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Mechanical properties of graphene prepared by chemical vapor deposition (CVD) are not easily comparable to the properties of nearly perfect graphene prepared by mechanical cleavage. In this work, we attempt to investigate the mechanical performance of CVD graphene (simply supported or embedded in polymer matrix), transferred by two different techniques, under uniaxial loading with simultaneous in-situ monitoring by Raman microspectroscopy. The level of charge transfer doping and strain is assessed using the vector analysis modified for uniaxial strain. The strain distribution across the samples varies significantly, owing to the growth and transfer process, which induces wrinkles and faults in the CVD graphene. In simply supported specimens, the stress transfer efficiency is generally very low and the changes in Raman spectra are dominated by variations in the charge transfer originating from the realignment of the domains on the substrate upon the application of strain. In contrast, samples covered with an additional polymer layer exhibit an improved stress transfer efficiency, and the alterations of charge doping levels are negligible. In fully embedded specimens, the variations in stress transfer efficiencies are caused by the size of the effective graphene domains defined by cracks, folds and or/wrinkles.
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Submitted 17 January, 2018;
originally announced January 2018.
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Wrinkled few-layer graphene as highly efficient load bearer
Authors:
Charalampos Androulidakis,
Emmanuel N. Koukaras,
Jaroslava Rahova,
Krishna Sampathkumar,
John Parthenios,
Konstantinos Papagelis,
Otakar Frank,
Costas Galiotis
Abstract:
Multilayered graphitic materials are not suitable as load-bearers due to their inherent weak interlayer bonding (for example, graphite is a solid lubricant in certain applications). This situation is largely improved when two-dimensional (2-D) materials such as a monolayer (SLG) graphene are employed. The downside in these cases is the presence of thermally or mechanically induced wrinkles which a…
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Multilayered graphitic materials are not suitable as load-bearers due to their inherent weak interlayer bonding (for example, graphite is a solid lubricant in certain applications). This situation is largely improved when two-dimensional (2-D) materials such as a monolayer (SLG) graphene are employed. The downside in these cases is the presence of thermally or mechanically induced wrinkles which are ubiquitous in 2-D materials. Here we set out to examine the effect of extensive large wavelength/ amplitude wrinkling on the stress transfer capabilities of exfoliated simply-supported graphene flakes. Contrary to common belief we present clear evidence that this type of "corrugation" enhances the load bearing capacity of few-layer graphene as compared to 'flat' specimens. This effect is the result of the significant increase of the graphene/polymer interfacial shear stress per increment of applied strain due to wrinkling and paves the way for designing affordable graphene composites with highly improved stress-transfer efficiency.
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Submitted 9 August, 2017;
originally announced August 2017.
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Evaluating arbitrary strain configurations and doping in graphene with Raman spectroscopy
Authors:
Niclas S. Mueller,
Sebastian Heeg,
Miriam Peña Alvarez,
Patryk Kusch,
Sören Wasserroth,
Nick Clark,
Fred Schedin,
John Parthenios,
Konstantinos Papagelis,
Costas Galiotis,
Martin Kalbáč,
Aravind Vijayaraghavan,
Uwe Huebner,
Roman Gorbachev,
Otakar Frank,
Stephanie Reich
Abstract:
Raman spectroscopy is a powerful tool for characterizing the local properties of graphene. Here, we introduce a method for evaluating unknown strain configurations and simultaneous doping. It relies on separating the effects of hydrostatic strain (peak shift) and shear strain (peak splitting) on the Raman spectrum of graphene. The peak shifts from hydrostatic strain and doping are separated with a…
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Raman spectroscopy is a powerful tool for characterizing the local properties of graphene. Here, we introduce a method for evaluating unknown strain configurations and simultaneous doping. It relies on separating the effects of hydrostatic strain (peak shift) and shear strain (peak splitting) on the Raman spectrum of graphene. The peak shifts from hydrostatic strain and doping are separated with a correlation analysis of the 2D and G frequencies. This enables us to obtain the local hydrostatic strain, shear strain and doping without any assumption on the strain configuration prior to the analysis. We demonstrate our approach for two model cases: Graphene under uniaxial stress on a PMMA substrate and graphene suspended on nanostructures that induce an unknown strain configuration. We measured $ω_\mathrm{2D}/ω_\mathrm{G} = 2.21 \pm 0.05$ for pure hydrostatic strain. Raman scattering with circular corotating polarization is ideal for analyzing strain and doping, especially for weak strain when the peak splitting by shear strain cannot be resolved.
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Submitted 7 April, 2017; v1 submitted 28 March, 2017;
originally announced March 2017.
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Quantum State Absorptions Coupled To Resonance Raman Spectroscopy Could Result In A General Explanation of TERS
Authors:
Zachary D. Schultz,
John Parthenios,
Rimma Dekhter,
Dimitris Anestopoulos,
Spyridon Grammatikopoulos,
Kostantinos Papagelis,
James M. Marr,
David Lewis,
Costas Galiotis,
Dimtry Lev,
Aaron Lewis
Abstract:
Tip enhanced Raman scattering (TERS) amplifies the intensity of vibrational Raman scattering by employing the tip of a probe interacting, in ultra close proximity, with a surface. Although a general understanding of the TERS process is still to be fully elucidated, scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) feedback is often applied with success in TERS to keep a noble metal probe in intimate proximity w…
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Tip enhanced Raman scattering (TERS) amplifies the intensity of vibrational Raman scattering by employing the tip of a probe interacting, in ultra close proximity, with a surface. Although a general understanding of the TERS process is still to be fully elucidated, scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) feedback is often applied with success in TERS to keep a noble metal probe in intimate proximity with a noble metal substrate. Since such STM TERS is a common modality, the possible implications of plasmonic fields that may be induced by the tunneling process are investigated and reported. In addition, TERS of a 2D resonant molecular system, a MoS2 bilayer crystal and a 2D non-resonant, lipid molecular bilayer is compared. Data with multiple excitation wavelengths and surfaces for the resonant system in the near- (TERS) and far-field regimes are reported. An interpretation based on weak coupling interactions within the framework of conventional resonance Raman scattering can explain the observed TERS enhancements. The non-resonant molecular lipid system, on the other hand, requires strong coupling for a full understanding of the reported observations.
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Submitted 14 August, 2016;
originally announced August 2016.
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Suspended Monolayer Graphene under True Uniaxial Deformation
Authors:
Ioannis Polyzos,
Massimiliano Bianchi,
Laura Rizzi,
Emmanuel Koukaras,
John Parthenios,
Konstantinos Papagelis,
Roman Sordan,
Costas Galiotis
Abstract:
2D crystals, such as graphene, exhibit the higher strength and stiffness of any other known man-made or natural material. So far, this assertion has been primarily based on modelling predictions and on bending experiments in combination with pertinent modelling. True uniaxial loading of suspended graphene is not easy to accomplish; however such an experiment is of paramount importance in order to…
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2D crystals, such as graphene, exhibit the higher strength and stiffness of any other known man-made or natural material. So far, this assertion has been primarily based on modelling predictions and on bending experiments in combination with pertinent modelling. True uniaxial loading of suspended graphene is not easy to accomplish; however such an experiment is of paramount importance in order to assess the intrinsic properties of graphene without the influence of an underlying substrate. In this work we report on uniaxial tension of graphene up to moderate strains of 0.8% ca.. This has been made possible by sandwiching the graphene flake between two polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA) layers and by suspending its central part by the removal of a section of PMMA with e-beam lithography. True uniaxial deformation is confirmed by the measured large phonon shifts with strain by Raman spectroscopy and the indication of lateral buckling (similar to what is observed for thin macroscopic membranes under tension). Finally, we also report on how the stress is transferred to the suspended specimen through the adhesive grips and determine the value of interfacial shear stress that is required for efficient axial loading in such a system.
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Submitted 19 July, 2016;
originally announced July 2016.
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Embedded trilayer graphene flakes under efficient tensile and compressive loading
Authors:
G. Tsoukleri,
J. Parthenios,
C. Galiotis,
K. Papagelis
Abstract:
The mechanical response of embedded ABA trilayer graphene flakes loaded in tension and compression on polymer beams is monitored by simultaneous Raman measurements through the strain sensitivity of the G or 2D peaks. A characteristic peculiarity of the investigated flake is that it contains a trilayer and bilayer part. The Bernal stacked bilayer was used as a strain sensor aiming to assess the eff…
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The mechanical response of embedded ABA trilayer graphene flakes loaded in tension and compression on polymer beams is monitored by simultaneous Raman measurements through the strain sensitivity of the G or 2D peaks. A characteristic peculiarity of the investigated flake is that it contains a trilayer and bilayer part. The Bernal stacked bilayer was used as a strain sensor aiming to assess the efficiency of the load transfer from the polymer matrix through shear to the individual graphene layers. For the trilayer graphene in tension, both peaks are redshifted and splitting of the G peak is reported for the first time. In compression, the studied sample was an almost isolated trilayer, in which both peaks are blue-shifted up to a critical compressive strain. This critical strain is found to be one fourth of the value found in the case of single layer graphene despite the higher bending rigidity that trilayer exhibits over the much thinner monolayer.
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Submitted 18 July, 2016;
originally announced July 2016.
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Stress Transfer Mechanisms at the Submicron Level for Graphene/Polymer Systems
Authors:
George Anagnostopoulos,
Charalampos Androulidakis,
Emmanuel N. Koukaras,
Georgia Tsoukleri,
Ioannis Polyzos,
John Parthenios,
Konstantinos Papagelis,
Costas Galiotis
Abstract:
The stress transfer mechanism from a polymer substrate to a nano-inclusion, such as a graphene flake, is of extreme interest for the production of effective nanocomposites. Previous work conducted mainly at the micron scale has shown that the intrinsic mechanism of stress transfer is shear at the interface. However, since the interfacial shear takes its maximum value at the very edge of the nano-i…
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The stress transfer mechanism from a polymer substrate to a nano-inclusion, such as a graphene flake, is of extreme interest for the production of effective nanocomposites. Previous work conducted mainly at the micron scale has shown that the intrinsic mechanism of stress transfer is shear at the interface. However, since the interfacial shear takes its maximum value at the very edge of the nano-inclusion it is of extreme interest to assess the effect of edge integrity upon axial stress transfer at the submicron scale. Here, we conduct a detailed Raman line mapping near the edges of a monolayer graphene flake which is simply supported onto an epoxy based photoresist (SU8)/poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) matrix at steps as small as 100 nm. We show for the first time that, the distribution of axial strain (stress) along the flake deviates somewhat from the classical shear-lag prediction for a region of about 2 um from the edge. This behavior is mainly attributed to the presence of residual stresses, unintentional doping and/or edge effects (deviation from the equilibrium values of bond lengths and angles, as well as different edge chiralities). By considering a simple balance of shear-to-normal stresses at the interface we are able to directly convert the strain (stress) gradient to values of interfacial shear stress for all the applied tensile levels without assuming classical shear-lag behavior. For large flakes a maximum value of interfacial shear stress (ISS) of 0.4 MPa is obtained prior to flake slipping.
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Submitted 16 June, 2016;
originally announced June 2016.
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Graphenes flakes under controlled biaxial deformation
Authors:
Charalampos Androulidakis,
Emmanuel N. Koukaras,
John Parthenios,
George Kalosakas,
Konstantinos Papagelis,
Costas Galiotis
Abstract:
Thin membranes, such as monolayer graphene of monoatomic thickness, are bound to exhibit lateral buckling under uniaxial tensile loading that impairs its mechanical behaviour. In this work, we have developed an experimental device to subject 2D materials to controlled equibiaxial strain on supported beams that can be flexed up or down to subject the material to either compression or tension, respe…
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Thin membranes, such as monolayer graphene of monoatomic thickness, are bound to exhibit lateral buckling under uniaxial tensile loading that impairs its mechanical behaviour. In this work, we have developed an experimental device to subject 2D materials to controlled equibiaxial strain on supported beams that can be flexed up or down to subject the material to either compression or tension, respectively. Using strain gauges in tandem with Raman spectroscopy measurements, we monitor the G and 2D phonon properties of graphene under biaxial strain and thus extract important information about the uptake of stress under these conditions. The experimental shift over strain for the G and 2D Raman peaks were found to be in the range of 62.3 \pm 5 cm^-1/%, and 148.2 \pm 6 cm^-1/%, respectively, for monolayer but also bilayer graphenes. The corresponding Gruneisen parameters for the G and 2D peaks were found to be between 1.97 \pm 0.15 and 2.86 \pm 0.12, respectively. These values agree reasonable well with those obtained from small-strain bubble-type experiments. The results presented are also backed up by classical and ab initio molecular dynamics simulations and excellent agreement of Γ-E2g shifts with strains and the Gruneisen parameter was observed.
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Submitted 13 June, 2016;
originally announced June 2016.
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Experimentally derived axial stress- strain relations for two-dimensional materials such as monolayer graphene
Authors:
Ch. Androulidakis,
G. Tsoukleri,
N. Koutroumanis,
G. Gkikas,
P. Pappas,
J. Parthenios,
K. Papagelis,
C. Galiotis
Abstract:
A methodology is presented here for deriving true experimental axial stress-strain curves in both tension and compression for monolayer graphene through the shift of the 2D Raman peak that is present in all graphitic materials. The principle behind this approach is the observation that the shift of the 2D wavenumber as a function of strain for different types of PAN based fibres is a linear functi…
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A methodology is presented here for deriving true experimental axial stress-strain curves in both tension and compression for monolayer graphene through the shift of the 2D Raman peak that is present in all graphitic materials. The principle behind this approach is the observation that the shift of the 2D wavenumber as a function of strain for different types of PAN based fibres is a linear function of their Young's moduli and, hence, the corresponding value of the shift of the 2D Raman peak over axial stress is, in fact, a constant. By moving across the length scales we show that this value is also valid at the nanoscale as it corresponds to the in plane breathing mode of graphene that is present in both PAN based fibres and monolayer graphene. Hence, the values of the shift of the 2D Raman peak can be easily converted to values of stress in the linear elastic region without the aid of modelling or the need to resort to cumbersome experimental procedures for obtaining the axial force transmitted to the material and the cross sectional area of the two dimensional membrane.
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Submitted 13 June, 2016; v1 submitted 9 June, 2016;
originally announced June 2016.
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The deformation of wrinkled graphene
Authors:
Zheling Li,
Ian A. Kinloch,
Robert J. Young,
Kostya S. Novoselov,
George Anagnostopoulos,
John Parthenios,
Costas Galiotis,
Konstantinos Papagelis,
Ching-Yu Lu,
Liam Britnell
Abstract:
The deformation of monolayer graphene, produced by chemical vapor deposition (CVD), on a polyester film substrate has been investigated through the use of Raman spectroscopy. It has been found that the microstructure of the CVD graphene consists of a hexagonal array of islands of flat monolayer graphene separated by wrinkled material. During deformation, it was found that the rate of shift of the…
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The deformation of monolayer graphene, produced by chemical vapor deposition (CVD), on a polyester film substrate has been investigated through the use of Raman spectroscopy. It has been found that the microstructure of the CVD graphene consists of a hexagonal array of islands of flat monolayer graphene separated by wrinkled material. During deformation, it was found that the rate of shift of the Raman 2D band wavenumber per unit strain was less than 25% of that of flat flakes of mechanically-exfoliated graphene, whereas the rate of band broadening per unit strain was about 75% of that of the exfoliated material. This unusual deformation behavior has been modeled in terms of mechanically-isolated graphene islands separated by the graphene wrinkles, with the strain distribution in each graphene island determined using shear lag analysis. The effect of the size and position of the Raman laser beam spot has also been incorporated in the model. The predictions fit well with the behavior observed experimentally for the Raman band shifts and broadening of the wrinkled CVD graphene. The effect of wrinkles upon the efficiency of graphene to reinforce nanocomposites is also discussed.
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Submitted 22 March, 2015;
originally announced March 2015.
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Failure Processes in Embedded Monolayer Graphene under Axial Compression
Authors:
Charalampos Androulidakis,
Emmanuel N. Koukaras,
Otakar Frank,
Georgia Tsoukleri,
Dimitris Sfyris,
John Parthenios,
Nicola Pugno,
Konstantinos Papagelis,
Kostya S. Novoselov,
Costas Galiotis
Abstract:
Exfoliated monolayer graphene flakes were embedded in a polymer matrix and loaded under axial compression. By monitoring the shifts of the 2D Raman phonons of rectangular flakes of various sizes under load, the critical strain to failure was determined. Prior to loading care was taken for the examined area of the flake to be free of residual stresses. The critical strain values for first failure w…
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Exfoliated monolayer graphene flakes were embedded in a polymer matrix and loaded under axial compression. By monitoring the shifts of the 2D Raman phonons of rectangular flakes of various sizes under load, the critical strain to failure was determined. Prior to loading care was taken for the examined area of the flake to be free of residual stresses. The critical strain values for first failure were found to be independent of flake size at a mean value of -0.60 % corresponding to a yield stress of -6 GPa. By combining Euler mechanics with a Winkler approach, we show that unlike buckling in air, the presence of the polymer constraint results in graphene buckling at a fixed value of strain with an estimated wrinkle wavelength of the order of 1-2 nm. These results were compared with DFT computations performed on analogue coronene/ PMMA oligomers and a reasonable agreement was obtained.
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Submitted 11 June, 2016; v1 submitted 1 January, 2014;
originally announced January 2014.
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Raman spectroscopy of graphene at high pressure: substrate and pressure transmitting media effects
Authors:
K. Filintoglou,
N. Papadopoulos,
J. Arvanitidis,
D. Christofilos,
O. Frank,
M. Kalbac,
J. Parthenios,
G. Kalosakas,
C. Galiotis,
K. Papagelis
Abstract:
The pressure evolution of the Raman spectrum of graphene grown by chemical vapour deposition on polycrystalline copper is investigated with the use of a polar and a non-polar pressure transmitting medium (PTM). The G and 2D Raman bands exhibit similar pressure slopes for both PTM irrespectively of any unintentional initial doping and/or strain of the samples. Our analysis suggests that any pressur…
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The pressure evolution of the Raman spectrum of graphene grown by chemical vapour deposition on polycrystalline copper is investigated with the use of a polar and a non-polar pressure transmitting medium (PTM). The G and 2D Raman bands exhibit similar pressure slopes for both PTM irrespectively of any unintentional initial doping and/or strain of the samples. Our analysis suggests that any pressure-induced charge transfer effects are negligibly small to influence the pressure response of graphene. This is determined by the mechanical stress due to the pressure-induced substrate contraction and the transfer efficiency of the latter to the graphene layer, as well as the PTM-graphene interaction. For the non-polar PTM, a peculiar pressure behavior of graphene is observed in the PTM solidification regime, resembling that of free standing graphene.
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Submitted 30 April, 2013;
originally announced April 2013.
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Phonon and structural changes in deformed Bernal stacked bilayer graphene
Authors:
Otakar Frank,
Milan Bousa,
Ibtsam Riaz,
Rashid Jalil,
Kostya S. Novoselov,
Georgia Tsoukleri,
John Parthenios,
Ladislav Kavan,
Konstantinos Papagelis,
Costas Galiotis
Abstract:
We present the first Raman spectroscopic study of Bernal bilayer graphene flakes under uniaxial tension. Apart from a purely mechanical behavior in flake regions where both layers are strained evenly, certain effects stem from inhomogeneous stress distribution across the layers. These phenomena such as the removal of inversion symmetry in bilayer graphene may have important implications in the ban…
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We present the first Raman spectroscopic study of Bernal bilayer graphene flakes under uniaxial tension. Apart from a purely mechanical behavior in flake regions where both layers are strained evenly, certain effects stem from inhomogeneous stress distribution across the layers. These phenomena such as the removal of inversion symmetry in bilayer graphene may have important implications in the band-gap engineering providing an alternative route to induce the formation of a band-gap.
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Submitted 8 February, 2012;
originally announced February 2012.
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Raman 2D-Band Splitting in Graphene: Theory and Experiment
Authors:
Otakar Frank,
Marcel Mohr,
Janina Maultzsch,
Christian Thomsen,
Ibtsam Riaz,
Rashid Jalil,
Kostya S. Novoselov,
Georgia Tsoukleri,
John Parthenios,
Konstantinos Papagelis,
Ladislav Kavan,
Costas Galiotis
Abstract:
We present a systematic experimental and theoretical study of the two-phonon (2D) Raman scattering in graphene under uniaxial tension. The external perturbation unveils that the 2D mode excited with 785nm has a complex line-shape mainly due to the contribution of two distinct double resonance scattering processes (inner and outer) in the Raman signal. The splitting depends on the direction of the…
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We present a systematic experimental and theoretical study of the two-phonon (2D) Raman scattering in graphene under uniaxial tension. The external perturbation unveils that the 2D mode excited with 785nm has a complex line-shape mainly due to the contribution of two distinct double resonance scattering processes (inner and outer) in the Raman signal. The splitting depends on the direction of the applied strain and the polarization of the incident light. The results give new insight into the nature of the 2D band and have significant implications for the use of graphene as reinforcement in composites since the 2D mode is crucial to assess how effectively graphene uptakes an applied stress or strain.
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Submitted 24 March, 2011;
originally announced March 2011.
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From Graphene to Carbon Fibres: Mechanical Deformation and Development of a Universal Stress Sensor
Authors:
Otakar Frank,
Georgia Tsoukleri,
Ibtsam Riaz,
Konstantinos Papagelis,
John Parthenios,
Andrea C. Ferrari,
Andre K. Geim,
Kostya S. Novoselov,
Costas Galiotis
Abstract:
Carbon fibres (CF) represent a significant volume fraction of modern structural airframes. Embedded into polymer matrices, they provide significant strength and stiffness gains over unit weight as compared to other competing structural materials. Nevertheless, no conclusive structural model yet exists to account for their extraordinary properties. In particular, polyacrynonitrile (PAN) derived C…
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Carbon fibres (CF) represent a significant volume fraction of modern structural airframes. Embedded into polymer matrices, they provide significant strength and stiffness gains over unit weight as compared to other competing structural materials. Nevertheless, no conclusive structural model yet exists to account for their extraordinary properties. In particular, polyacrynonitrile (PAN) derived CF are known to be fully turbostratic: the graphene layers are slipped sideways relative to each other, which leads to an inter-graphene distance much greater than graphite. Here, we demonstrate that CF derive their mechanical properties from those of graphene itself. By monitoring the Raman G peak shift with strain for both CF and graphene, we develop a universal master plot relating the G peak strain sensitivity of all types of CF to graphene over a wide range of tensile moduli. A universal value of - average- shift rate with axial stress of ~ -5ω0^-1 (cm^-1 MPa^-1)is calculated for both graphene and all CF exhibiting annular ("onion-skin") morphology.
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Submitted 6 October, 2010;
originally announced October 2010.
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Compression Behavior of Single-layer Graphene
Authors:
Otakar Frank,
Georgia Tsoukleri,
John Parthenios,
Konstantinos Papagelis,
Ibtsam Riaz,
Rashid Jalil,
Kostya S. Novoselov,
Costas Galiotis
Abstract:
Central to most applications involving monolayer graphene is its mechanical response under various stress states. To date most of the work reported is of theoretical nature and refers to tension and compression loading of model graphene. Most of the experimental work is indeed limited to bending of single flakes in air and the stretching of flakes up to typically ~1% using plastic substrates. Rece…
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Central to most applications involving monolayer graphene is its mechanical response under various stress states. To date most of the work reported is of theoretical nature and refers to tension and compression loading of model graphene. Most of the experimental work is indeed limited to bending of single flakes in air and the stretching of flakes up to typically ~1% using plastic substrates. Recently we have shown that by employing a cantilever beam we can subject single graphene into various degrees of axial compression. Here we extend this work much further by measuring in detail both stress uptake and compression buckling strain in single flakes of different geometries. In all cases the mechanical response is monitored by simultaneous Raman measurements through the shift of either the G or 2D phonons of graphene. In spite of the infinitely small thickness of the monolayers, the results show that graphene embedded in plastic beams exhibit remarkable compression buckling strains. For large length (l)-to-width (w) ratios (> 0.2) the buckling strain is of the order of -0.5% to -0.6%. However, for l/w <0.2 no failure is observed for strains even higher than -1%. Calculations based on classical Euler analysis show that the buckling strain enhancement provided by the polymer lateral support is more than six orders of magnitude compared to suspended graphene in air.
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Submitted 24 June, 2010;
originally announced June 2010.
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Subjecting a graphene monolayer to tension and compression
Authors:
Georgia Tsoukleri,
John Parthenios,
Konstantinos Papagelis,
Rashid Jalil,
Andrea C. Ferrari,
A. K. Geim,
Kostya S. Novoselov,
Costas Galiotis
Abstract:
The mechanical behaviour of graphene flakes under both tension and compression is examined using a cantilever-beam arrangement. Two different sets of samples were employed involving flakes just supported on a plastic bar but also embedded within the plastic substrate. By monitoring the shift of the 2D Raman line with strain, information on the stress transfer efficiency as a function of stress s…
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The mechanical behaviour of graphene flakes under both tension and compression is examined using a cantilever-beam arrangement. Two different sets of samples were employed involving flakes just supported on a plastic bar but also embedded within the plastic substrate. By monitoring the shift of the 2D Raman line with strain, information on the stress transfer efficiency as a function of stress sign and monolayer support were obtained. In tension, the embedded flake seems to sustain strains up to 1.3%, whereas in compression there is an indication of flake buckling at about 0.7% strain. The retainment of such a high critical buckling strain confirms the relative high flexural rigidity of the embedded monolayer.
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Submitted 4 October, 2009;
originally announced October 2009.