title: Confining crack propagation in defective graphene.
abstract: Crack propagation in graphene is essential to understand mechanical failure in 2D materials. We report a systematic study of crack propagation in graphene as a function of defect content. Nanoindentations and subsequent images of graphene membranes with controlled induced defects show that while tears in pristine graphene span microns length, crack propagation is strongly reduced in the presence of defects. Accordingly, graphene oxide exhibits minor crack propagation. Our work suggests controlled defect creation as an approach to avoid catastrophic failure in graphene.
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Física de la Materia Condensada, INC, and ‡Centro de Investigación de Física de la Materia Condensada, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid , 28049, Madrid, Spain.
authors.forename: Guillermo
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: López-Polín
authors.forename: Julio
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Gómez-Herrero
authors.forename: Cristina
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Gómez-Navarro
keywords: Graphene; atomic force microscopy; crack propagation; defects; toughness