Two-dimensional membrane as elastic shell with proof on the folds revealed by three-dimensional atomic mapping.
basic_science · Level V
Where this comes from
- Record sourced from PubMed, PMID 26581177.
- Also identified by DOI 10.1038/ncomms9935 and PMC identifier 4673832.
- Licence recorded as CC BY.
- The licence permits redistribution, so the abstract is shown in full and the full text is available from the publisher.
Abstract
The great application potential for two-dimensional (2D) membranes (MoS2, WSe2, graphene and so on) aroused much effort to understand their fundamental mechanical properties. The out-of-plane bending rigidity is the key factor that controls the membrane morphology under external fields. Herein we provide an easy method to reconstruct the 3D structures of the folded edges of these 2D membranes on the atomic scale, using high-resolution (S)TEM images. After quantitative comparison with continuum mechanics shell model, it is verified that the bending behaviour of the studied 2D materials can be well explained by the linear elastic shell model. And the bending rigidities can thus be derived by fitting with our experimental results. Recall almost only theoretical approaches can access the bending properties of these 2D membranes before, now a new experimental method to measure the bending rigidity of such flexible and atomic thick 2D membranes is proposed.