title: First-principles study of the effects of mechanical strains on the radiation hardness of hexagonal boron nitride monolayers.
abstract: We investigate the strain effect on the radiation hardness of hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN) monolayers using density functional theory calculations. Both compressive and tensile strains are studied in elastic domains along the zigzag, armchair, and biaxial directions. We observe a reduction in radiation hardness to form boron and nitrogen monovacancies under all strains. The origin of this effect is the strain-induced reduction of the energy barrier to displace an atom. An implication of our results is the vulnerability of strained nanomaterials to radiation damage.
authors.affiliation: Department of Mechanical, Aerospace and Nuclear Engineering, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy, NY 12180, USA. qpeng.org@gmail.com
authors.forename: Qing
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Peng
authors.forename: Wei
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Ji
authors.forename: Suvranu
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: De