title: Thickness-dependent bending modulus of hexagonal boron nitride nanosheets.
abstract: Bending modulus of exfoliation-made single-crystalline hexagonal boron nitride nanosheets (BNNSs) with thicknesses of 25-300 nm and sizes of 1.2-3.0 microm were measured using three-point bending tests in an atomic force microscope. BNNSs suspended on an SiO(2) trench were clamped by a metal film via microfabrication based on electron beam lithography. Calculated by the plate theory of a doubly clamped plate under a concentrated load, the bending modulus of BNNSs was found to increase with the decrease of sheet thickness and approach the theoretical C(33) value of a hexagonal BN single crystal in thinner sheets (thickness<50 nm). The thickness-dependent bending modulus was suggested to be due to the layer distribution of stacking faults which were also thought to be responsible for the layer-by-layer BNNS exfoliation.
authors.forename: Chun
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: World Premier International Center for Materials Nanoarchitectonics (MANA), National Institute for Materials Science, Namiki 1-1, Tsukuba, Ibaraki 305-004, Japan.
authors.forename: Yoshio
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Bando
authors.affiliation: World Premier International Center for Materials Nanoarchitectonics (MANA), National Institute for Materials Science, Namiki 1-1, Tsukuba, Ibaraki 305-004, Japan.
authors.forename: Chunyi
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Zhi
authors.affiliation: World Premier International Center for Materials Nanoarchitectonics (MANA), National Institute for Materials Science, Namiki 1-1, Tsukuba, Ibaraki 305-004, Japan.
authors.forename: Yang
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Huang
authors.affiliation: World Premier International Center for Materials Nanoarchitectonics (MANA), National Institute for Materials Science, Namiki 1-1, Tsukuba, Ibaraki 305-004, Japan.
authors.forename: Dmitri
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Golberg