# Mechanical Properties and Fracture Patterns of Graphene (Graphitic) Nanowiggles

## TL;DR

This study uses atomistic simulations to analyze how the shape and size of graphene nanowiggles influence their mechanical strength, ductility, and fracture patterns, revealing size-dependent properties and super-ductile behavior.

## Contribution

It provides the first detailed investigation of the mechanical properties and fracture mechanisms of GNW with various shapes and sizes using reactive molecular dynamics.

## Key findings

- Narrow GNW have higher strength and Young's modulus than wider ones.
- Young's modulus ranges from ~100 to 1000 GPa, and ultimate strength from ~20 to 110 GPa.
- Some GNW structures exhibit super-ductile behavior under strain.

## Abstract

Graphene nanowiggles (GNW) are graphene-based nanostructures obtained by making alternated regular cuts in pristine graphene nanoribbons. GNW were recently synthesized and it was demonstrated that they exhibit tunable electronic and magnetic properties by just varying their shape. Here, we have investigated the mechanical properties and fracture patterns of a large number of GNW of different shapes and sizes using fully atomistic reactive molecular dynamics simulations. Our results show that the GNW mechanical properties are strongly dependent on its shape and size and, as a general trend narrow sheets have larger ultimate strength and Young's modulus than wide ones. The estimated Young's modulus values were found to be in a range of ~ 100-1000 GPa and the ultimate strength in a range of ~ 20-110 GPa, depending on GNW shape. Also, super-ductile behaviour under strain was observed for some structures.