Twist-enhanced stretchability of graphene nanoribbons: a molecular dynamics study

When a solid object is stretched, in general, it shrinks transversely. However, the abnormal ones are auxetic, which exhibit lateral expansion, or negative Poisson ratio. While graphene is a paradigm 2D material, surprisingly, graphene converts from normal to auxetic at certain strains. Here, we show via molecular dynamics simulations that the normal-auxeticity mechanical phase transition only occurs in uniaxial tension along the armchair direction or the nearest neighbor direction. Such a characteristic persists at temperatures up to 2400 K. Besides monolayer, bilayer and multi-layer graphene also possess such a normal-auxeticity transition. This unique property could extend the applications of graphene to new horizons. LETTER 2017 Original content from this work may be used under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 licence. Any further distribution of this work must maintain attribution to the author(s) and the title of the work, journal citation and DOI. RECEIVED