Dedicated preparation for in situ transmission electron microscope tensile testing of exfoliated graphene

Applied Microscopy

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[1] 0000 0004 0381 814X, grid.42687.3f, School Materials Science and Engineering, Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology (UNIST), 44919, Ulsan Metropolitan City, Republic of Korea;0000 0004 0381 814X, grid.42687.3f, School Materials Science and Engineering, Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology (UNIST), 44919, Ulsan Metropolitan City, Republic of Korea;0000 0004 1784 4496, grid.410720.0, Center for Multidimensional Carbon Materials, Institute for Basic Science (IBS), 44919, Ulsan Metropolitan City, Republic of Korea;

关键词: Exfoliated graphene;    In situ TEM;    Uniaxial tensile testing;    Dry transfer;    Crack propagation;   

DOI  :  10.1007/s42649-019-0005-5

来源: publisher

【 摘 要 】

Graphene, which is one of the most promising materials for its state-of-the-art applications, has received extensive attention because of its superior mechanical properties. However, there is little experimental evidence related to the mechanical properties of graphene at the atomic level because of the challenges associated with transferring atomically-thin two-dimensional (2D) materials onto microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) devices. In this study, we show successful dry transfer with a gel material of a stable, clean, and free-standing exfoliated graphene film onto a push-to-pull (PTP) device, which is a MEMS device used for uniaxial tensile testing in in situ transmission electron microscopy (TEM). Through the results of optical microscopy, Raman spectroscopy, and TEM, we demonstrate high quality exfoliated graphene on the PTP device. Finally, the stress–strain results corresponding to propagating cracks in folded graphene were simultaneously obtained during the tensile tests in TEM. The zigzag and armchair edges of graphene confirmed that the fracture occurred in association with the hexagonal lattice structure of graphene while the tensile testing. In the wake of the results, we envision the dedicated preparation and in situ TEM tensile experiments advance the understanding of the relationship between the mechanical properties and structural characteristics of 2D materials.

【 授权许可】

CC BY