Abstract

Graphene auto-kirigami describes the thermodynamically self-driven tearing, sliding and folding of graphene sheets to form micrometre-scale folded ribbons. This work introduces an AFM-based method, hard tapping, that nucleates high yields of ribbons by AFM indentation followed by high-setpoint imaging, enabling extensional growth, rotation, and reversal of ribbons. The method is demonstrated on graphene and extended to thicker graphitic samples, with limited nucleation also observed in MoS₂ and other CVD 2D materials.

Abstract

Graphene auto-kirigami describes the thermodynamically self-driven tearing, sliding and folding of graphene sheets to form micrometre-scale folded ribbons. This work introduces an AFM-based method, hard tapping, that nucleates high yields of ribbons by AFM indentation followed by high-setpoint imaging, enabling extensional growth, rotation, and reversal of ribbons. The method is demonstrated on graphene and extended to thicker graphitic samples, with limited nucleation also observed in MoS₂ and other CVD 2D materials.

Abstract

Graphene auto-kirigami describes the thermodynamically self-driven tearing, sliding and folding of graphene sheets to form micrometre-scale folded ribbons. This work introduces an AFM-based method, hard tapping, that nucleates high yields of ribbons by AFM indentation followed by high-setpoint imaging, enabling extensional growth, rotation, and reversal of ribbons. The method is demonstrated on graphene and extended to thicker graphitic samples, with limited nucleation also observed in MoS₂ and other CVD 2D materials.

Abstract

Graphene auto-kirigami describes the thermodynamically self-driven tearing, sliding and folding of graphene sheets to form micrometre-scale folded ribbons. This work introduces an AFM-based method, hard tapping, that nucleates high yields of ribbons by AFM indentation followed by high-setpoint imaging, enabling extensional growth, rotation, and reversal of ribbons. The method is demonstrated on graphene and extended to thicker graphitic samples, with limited nucleation also observed in MoS₂ and other CVD 2D materials.