Mechanical properties of atomically thin boron nitride and the role of interlayer interactions

Aleksey Falin, Qiran Cai, Elton J.G. Santos, Declan Scullion, Dong Qian, Rui Zhang, Zhi Yang, Shaoming Huang, Kenji Watanabe, Takashi Taniguchi, Matthew R. Barnett, Ying Chen (), Rodney S. Ruoff and Lu Hua Li ()
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Aleksey Falin: Institute for Frontier Materials, Deakin University, Geelong Waurn Ponds Campus
Qiran Cai: Institute for Frontier Materials, Deakin University, Geelong Waurn Ponds Campus
Elton J.G. Santos: School of Mathematics and Physics, Queen’s University Belfast
Declan Scullion: School of Mathematics and Physics, Queen’s University Belfast
Dong Qian: The University of Texas at Dallas
Rui Zhang: The University of Texas at Dallas
Zhi Yang: Nanomaterials and Chemistry Key Laboratory, Wenzhou University
Shaoming Huang: Nanomaterials and Chemistry Key Laboratory, Wenzhou University
Kenji Watanabe: National Institute for Materials Science
Takashi Taniguchi: National Institute for Materials Science
Matthew R. Barnett: Institute for Frontier Materials, Deakin University, Geelong Waurn Ponds Campus
Ying Chen: Institute for Frontier Materials, Deakin University, Geelong Waurn Ponds Campus
Rodney S. Ruoff: Center for Multidimensional Carbon Materials, Institute for Basic Science (IBS)
Lu Hua Li: Institute for Frontier Materials, Deakin University, Geelong Waurn Ponds Campus

Nature Communications, 2017, vol. 8, issue 1, 1-9

Abstract: Abstract Atomically thin boron nitride (BN) nanosheets are important two-dimensional nanomaterials with many unique properties distinct from those of graphene, but investigation into their mechanical properties remains incomplete. Here we report that high-quality single-crystalline mono- and few-layer BN nanosheets are one of the strongest electrically insulating materials. More intriguingly, few-layer BN shows mechanical behaviours quite different from those of few-layer graphene under indentation. In striking contrast to graphene, whose strength decreases by more than 30% when the number of layers increases from 1 to 8, the mechanical strength of BN nanosheets is not sensitive to increasing thickness. We attribute this difference to the distinct interlayer interactions and hence sliding tendencies in these two materials under indentation. The significantly better interlayer integrity of BN nanosheets makes them a more attractive candidate than graphene for several applications, for example, as mechanical reinforcements.

Date: 2017
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DOI: 10.1038/ncomms15815

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