No Arabic abstract
Membranes of suspended two-dimensional materials show a large variability in mechanical properties, in part due to static and dynamic wrinkles. As a consequence, experiments typically show a multitude of nanomechanical resonance peaks, which makes an unambiguous identification of the vibrational modes difficult. Here, we probe the motion of graphene nanodrum resonators with spatial resolution using a phase-sensitive interferometer. By simultaneously visualizing the local phase and amplitude of the driven motion, we show that unexplained spectral features represent split degenerate modes. When taking these into account, the resonance frequencies up to the eighth vibrational mode agree with theory. The corresponding displacement profiles however, are remarkably different from theory, as small imperfections increasingly deform the nodal lines for the higher modes. The Brownian motion, which is used to calibrate the local displacement, exhibits a similar mode pattern. The experiments clarify the complicated dynamic behaviour of suspended two-dimensional materials, which is crucial for reproducible fabrication and applications.
Graphene, a thinnest material in the world, can form moire structures on different substrates, including graphite, h-BN, or metal surfaces. In such systems the structure of graphene, i. e. its corrugation, as well as its electronic and elastic properties are defined by the combination of the system geometry and local interaction strength at the interface. The corrugation in such structures on metals is heavily extracted from diffraction or local probe microscopy experiments and can be obtained only via comparison with theoretical data, which usually simulate the experimental findings. Here we show that graphene corrugation on metals can be measured directly employing atomic force spectroscopy and obtained value coincides with state-of-the-art theoretical results. We also address the elastic reaction of the formed graphene nanodoms on the indentation process by the scanning tip that is important for the modeling and fabrication of graphene-based nanoresonators on the nanoscale.
Semi-permeable membranes are important elements in water purification and energy generation applications, for which the atomic thickness and strength of graphene can enhance efficiency and permeation rate while maintaining good selectivity. Here, we show that an osmotic pressure difference forms across a suspended graphene membrane as a response to a sucrose concentration difference, providing evidence for its semi-permeability. This osmotic pressure difference is detected via the deflection of the graphene membrane that is measured by atomic force microscopy. Using this technique, the time dependence of this deflection allows us to measure the water permeation rate of a single 3.4 $mu$m diameter graphene membrane. Its value is close to the expected value of a single nanopore in graphene. The method thus allows one to experimentally study the semi-permeability of graphene membranes at the microscale when the leakage rate is miniscule. It can therefore find use in the development of graphene membranes for filtration, and can enable sensors that measure the concentration and composition of solutions.
Graphene kinks are topological states of buckled graphene membranes. We show that when a moving kink encounters a constriction, there are three general classes of behavior: reflection, trapping, and transmission. Overall, constriction is characterized by an attractive potential. In the case of a simple symmetric constriction, the kink potential energy has a relatively deep minimum surrounded by energy barriers. However, the potential energy alone does not fully define the class of behavior: the effect of a resonant reflection was observed in our simulations. Moreover, we demonstrate that asymmetric constrictions can transform kinks from one type into another. MD simulation results are compared with predictions of the classical $phi^4$ model.
The motion of a C60 molecule over a graphene sheet at finite temperature is investigated both theoretically and computationally. We show that a graphene sheet generates a van der Waals laterally periodic potential, which directly influences the motion of external objects in its proximity. The translational motion of a C60 molecule near a graphene sheet is found to be diffusive in the lateral directions. While, in the perpendicular direction, the motion may be described as diffusion in an effective harmonic potential which is determined from the distribution function of the position of the C60 molecule. We also examine the rotational diffusion of C60 and show that its motion over the graphene sheet is not a rolling motion.
We consider graphene superlattice miniband fermions probed by electronic interferometry in magneto-transport experiments. By decoding the observed Fabry-Perot interference patterns together with our corresponding quantum transport simulations, we find that the Dirac quasiparticles originating from the superlattice minibands do not undergo conventional cyclotron motion but follow more subtle trajectories. In particular, dynamics at low magnetic fields is characterized by peculiar, straight trajectory segments. Our results provide new insights into superlattice miniband fermions and open up novel possibilities to use periodic potentials in electron optics experiments.