Mechanical[edit]

cylindrical shape, which is its lower-energy state.[157]

As is true of all materials, regions of graphene are subject to thermal and quantum fluctuations in
relative displacement. Although the amplitude of these fluctuations is bounded in 3D structures
(even in the limit of infinite size), the MerminWagner theorem shows that the amplitude of longwavelength fluctuations grows logarithmically with the scale of a 2D structure, and would
therefore be unbounded in structures of infinite size. Local deformation and elastic strain are
negligibly affected by this long-range divergence in relative displacement. It is believed that a
sufficiently large 2D structure, in the absence of applied lateral tension, will bend and crumple to
form a fluctuating 3D structure. Researchers have observed ripples in suspended layers of
graphene,[31] and it has been proposed that the ripples are caused by thermal fluctuations in the
material. As a consequence of these dynamical deformations, it is debatable whether graphene
is truly a 2D structure.[36][65][66][158] It has recently been shown that these ripples, if amplified through
the introduction of vacancy defects, can impart a negative Poisson's ratio into graphene,
resulting in the thinnest auxetic material known so far.[159]
Graphene nanosheets have been incorporated into a Ni matrix through a plating process to form
Ni-graphene composites on a target substrate. The enhancement in mechanical properties of the
composites is attributed to the high interaction between Ni and graphene and the prevention of
the dislocation sliding in the Ni matrix by the graphene. [160]
Fracture toughness[edit]
dagfiad