Nanomechanics of Graphene Sheets

Abstract

This chapter reviews basic structure of graphene sheets, interfacial sliding between adjacent graphene sheets, a nanoscale analog of the Newton’s friction law, registry effects between adjacent graphene sheets and their atomic lattices, registry matrices to describe interfacial registry in graphene stacking and the registry matrix analysis for the sliding of graphene sheets in nanoscale electronic devices. Interfacial sliding of graphene sheets depends on the interfacial registry potentials and the so called effect of the spatial exclusion of electrons (ESEE) at the interface of two graphene sheets, which can be viewed as the nanoscale analog of Pauli’s exclusion principle. Understanding of nanoscale sliding phenomena is critical for improving manufacturing technology for the single layer graphene sheets in nanoelectronic devices. Interfacial sliding between adjacent graphene sheets has been also described by a nanoscale analog of the Newton’s friction law for the nanoscale surface sliding mechanics and the associated stiction effects. Understanding of nanoscale sliding helps nanoscale cleaning and safety.