Multifunctionality and control of the crumpling and unfolding of large-area graphene
Author(s)
Zang, Jianfeng; Ryu, Seunghwa; Pugno, Nicola; Wang, Qiming; Tu, Qing; Zhao, Xuanhe; Buehler, Markus J; ... Show more Show less
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Crumpled graphene films are widely used, for instance in electronics, energy storage, composites and biomedicine. Although it is known that the degree of crumpling affects graphene’s properties and the performance of graphene-based devices and materials, the controlled folding and unfolding of crumpled graphene films has not been demonstrated. Here we report an approach to reversibly control the crumpling and unfolding of large-area graphene sheets. We show with experiments, atomistic simulations and theory that, by harnessing the mechanical instabilities of graphene adhered on a biaxially pre-stretched polymer substrate and by controlling the relaxation of the pre-strains in a particular order, graphene films can be crumpled into tailored self-organized hierarchical structures that mimic superhydrophobic leaves. The approach enables us to fabricate large-area conductive coatings and electrodes showing superhydrophobicity, high transparency, and tunable wettability and transmittance. We also demonstrate that crumpled graphene–polymer laminates can be used as artificial-muscle actuators.
Date issued
2013-01Department
Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering; Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Laboratory for Atomistic and Molecular Mechanics; Massachusetts Institute of Technology. School of EngineeringJournal
Nature Materials
Publisher
Nature Publishing Group
Citation
Zang, Jianfeng, Seunghwa Ryu, Nicola Pugno, Qiming Wang, Qing Tu, Markus J. Buehler, and Xuanhe Zhao. “Multifunctionality and Control of the Crumpling and Unfolding of Large-Area Graphene.” Nature Materials 12, no. 4 (January 20, 2013): 321–325.
Version: Author's final manuscript
ISSN
1476-1122
1476-4660