Interlayer equilibrium between graphitic nanostructures using continuum modeling approaches

Abstract

Explicit solutions are derived to study the equilibrium distance as well as potential energy between graphene and its derivative forms. Since the application of explicitly analytical solutions is limited to homogenous deformation and cannot capture the edge effect, Gaussian quadrature is presented to overcome these problems. The two key elements, i.e., truncation distance and the size of integration element, which are closely related to the computational efficiency and accuracy have been systemically studied. Fitting functions in terms of the above-mentioned two key elements are also provided to easily evaluate the difference of Gaussian quadrature. This paper provides a good understanding of the van der Waals interaction between graphitic nanostructures, and should be of great help for fabricating nano devices and simulating their mechanical behaviors such as spontaneous buckling.