Macroscopic graphene membranes and their extraordinary stiffness

TL;DR

This paper introduces a reliable method for creating large, macroscopic graphene membranes and demonstrates their exceptional stiffness and load-bearing capacity, challenging previous perceptions of graphene as a flexible material.

Contribution

The authors present a new technique for fabricating large graphene membranes and provide experimental evidence of their extraordinary stiffness and load support capabilities.

Findings

Graphene membranes up to 100 microns in diameter can be reliably produced.

Supported graphene beams do not scroll or fold, indicating high stiffness.

Graphene supports loads millions of times its own weight, confirming theoretical predictions.

Abstract

The properties of suspended graphene are currently attracting enormous interest, but the small size of available samples and the difficulties in making them severely restrict the number of experimental techniques that can be used to study the optical, mechanical, electronic, thermal and other characteristics of this one-atom-thick material. Here we describe a new and highly-reliable approach for making graphene membranes of a macroscopic size (currently up to 100 microns in diameter) and their characterization by transmission electron microscopy. In particular, we have found that long graphene beams supported by one side only do not scroll or fold, in striking contrast to the current perception of graphene as a supple thin fabric, but demonstrate sufficient stiffness to support extremely large loads, millions of times exceeding their own weight, in agreement with the presented theory. Our work opens many avenues for studying suspended graphene and using it in various micromechanical systems and electron microscopy.