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Intrinsic toughening and stable crack propagation in hexagonal boron nitride

Author

Listed:
  • Yingchao Yang

    (Rice University
    University of Maine)

  • Zhigong Song

    (Institute of High Performance Computing, A*STAR
    Brown University
    Tsinghua University)

  • Guangyuan Lu

    (Chinese Academy of Sciences)

  • Qinghua Zhang

    (Chinese Academy of Sciences)

  • Boyu Zhang

    (Rice University)

  • Bo Ni

    (Brown University)

  • Chao Wang

    (Rice University
    Harbin Institute of Technology)

  • Xiaoyan Li

    (Tsinghua University)

  • Lin Gu

    (Chinese Academy of Sciences)

  • Xiaoming Xie

    (Chinese Academy of Sciences)

  • Huajian Gao

    (Institute of High Performance Computing, A*STAR
    Brown University
    Nanyang Technological University)

  • Jun Lou

    (Rice University)

Abstract

If a bulk material can withstand a high load without any irreversible damage (such as plastic deformation), it is usually brittle and can fail catastrophically1,2. This trade-off between strength and fracture toughness also extends into two-dimensional materials space3–5. For example, graphene has ultrahigh intrinsic strength (about 130 gigapascals) and elastic modulus (approximately 1.0 terapascal) but is brittle, with low fracture toughness (about 4 megapascals per square-root metre)3,6. Hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN) is a dielectric two-dimensional material7 with high strength (about 100 gigapascals) and elastic modulus (approximately 0.8 terapascals), which are similar to those of graphene8. Its fracture behaviour has long been assumed to be similarly brittle, subject to Griffith’s law9–14. Contrary to expectation, here we report high fracture toughness of single-crystal monolayer h-BN, with an effective energy release rate up to one order of magnitude higher than both its Griffith energy release rate and that reported for graphene. We observe stable crack propagation in monolayer h-BN, and obtain the corresponding crack resistance curve. Crack deflection and branching occur repeatedly owing to asymmetric edge elastic properties at the crack tip and edge swapping during crack propagation, which intrinsically toughens the material and enables stable crack propagation. Our in situ experimental observations, supported by theoretical analysis, suggest added practical benefits and potential new technological opportunities for monolayer h-BN, such as adding mechanical protection to two-dimensional devices.

Suggested Citation

  • Yingchao Yang & Zhigong Song & Guangyuan Lu & Qinghua Zhang & Boyu Zhang & Bo Ni & Chao Wang & Xiaoyan Li & Lin Gu & Xiaoming Xie & Huajian Gao & Jun Lou, 2021. "Intrinsic toughening and stable crack propagation in hexagonal boron nitride," Nature, Nature, vol. 594(7861), pages 57-61, June.
  • Handle: RePEc:nat:nature:v:594:y:2021:i:7861:d:10.1038_s41586-021-03488-1
    DOI: 10.1038/s41586-021-03488-1
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    Cited by:

    1. Kuichang Zuo & Xiang Zhang & Xiaochuan Huang & Eliezer F. Oliveira & Hua Guo & Tianshu Zhai & Weipeng Wang & Pedro J. J. Alvarez & Menachem Elimelech & Pulickel M. Ajayan & Jun Lou & Qilin Li, 2022. "Ultrahigh resistance of hexagonal boron nitride to mineral scale formation," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 13(1), pages 1-10, December.

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