Alignment of graphene nanoribbons by an electric-field

TL;DR

This paper presents an analytical model and molecular simulations to predict how electric fields align graphene nanoribbons, revealing key dependencies on field strength and ribbon dimensions.

Contribution

It introduces a novel analytical approach validated by simulations, detailing the electric-field-induced alignment behavior of graphene nanoribbons.

Findings

Bending angle proportional to square of field strength and length

Alignment is independent of ribbon width

Graphene nanoribbons are more sensitive to electric fields than nanotubes

Abstract

In this paper, we develop an analytical approach to predict the field-induced alignment of cantilevered graphene nanoribbons. This approach is validated through molecular simulations using a constitutive atomic electrostatic model. Our results reveal that graphene's field-oriented bending angle is roughly proportional to the square of field strength or the graphene length for small deformations, while is roughly independent of graphene width. The effective bending stiffness and the longitudinal polarizability are also found to be approximately proportional to the square of graphene length. Compared with carbon nanotubes, graphene nanoribbons are found to be more mechanically sensitive to an external electric field.