Interplay between bending and stretching in carbon nanoribbons

TL;DR

This paper combines continuum elasticity theory and atomistic simulations to analyze the bending and stretching interplay in carbon nanoribbons, revealing how atomic-scale relaxation induces in-plane strain fields.

Contribution

It introduces a comprehensive analysis of bending and stretching interactions in nanoribbons using both continuum mechanics and tight-binding simulations, highlighting edge effects.

Findings

Bending rigidity agrees with recent literature.

In-plane strain fields are induced by atomic relaxation.

Edge effects contribute to strain distribution.

Abstract

We investigate the bending properties of carbon nanoribbons by combining continuum elasticity theory and tight-binding atomistic simulations. First, we develop a complete analysis of a given bended configuration through continuum mechanics. Then, we provide by tight-binding calculations the value of the bending rigidity in good agreement with recent literature. We discuss the emergence of a stretching field induced by the full atomic-scale relaxation of the nanoribbon architecture. We further prove that such an in-plane strain field can be decomposed into a first contribution due to the actual bending of the sheet and a second one due to edge effects.