Elastocapillary cleaning of twisted bilayer graphene interfaces

Yuan Hou, Zhaohe Dai, Shuai Zhang, Shizhe Feng, Guorui Wang, Luqi Liu (), Zhiping Xu (), Qunyang Li () and Zhong Zhang ()
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Yuan Hou: CAS Center for Excellence in Nanoscience, National Center for Nanoscience and Technology
Zhaohe Dai: The University of Texas at Austin
Shuai Zhang: Tsinghua University
Shizhe Feng: Tsinghua University
Guorui Wang: CAS Center for Excellence in Nanoscience, National Center for Nanoscience and Technology
Luqi Liu: CAS Center for Excellence in Nanoscience, National Center for Nanoscience and Technology
Zhiping Xu: Tsinghua University
Qunyang Li: Tsinghua University
Zhong Zhang: CAS Center for Excellence in Nanoscience, National Center for Nanoscience and Technology

Nature Communications, 2021, vol. 12, issue 1, 1-9

Abstract: Abstract Although layered van der Waals (vdW) materials involve vast interface areas that are often subject to contamination, vdW interactions between layers may squeeze interfacial contaminants into nanopockets. More intriguingly, those nanopockets could spontaneously coalesce into larger ones, which are easier to be squeezed out the atomic channels. Such unusual phenomena have been thought of as an Ostwald ripening process that is driven by the capillarity of the confined liquid. The underlying mechanism, however, is unclear as the crucial role played by the sheet’s elasticity has not been previously appreciated. Here, we demonstrate the coalescence of separated nanopockets and propose a cleaning mechanism in which both elastic and capillary forces are at play. We elucidate this mechanism in terms of control of the nanopocket morphology and the coalescence of nanopockets via a mechanical stretch. Besides, we demonstrate that bilayer graphene interfaces excel in self-renewal phenomena.

Date: 2021
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DOI: 10.1038/s41467-021-25302-2

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