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Graphene can be made auxetic through the introduction of vacancy defects. This results in the thinnest negative Poisson's ratio material at ambient conditions known so far, an effect achieved via a nanoscale de-wrinkling mechanism that mimics the behavior at the macroscale exhibited by a crumpled sheet of paper when stretched.

Auxetic mechanical metamaterials are engineered systems that exhibit the unusual macroscopic property of a negative Poisson's ratio due to sub-unit structure rather than chemical composition. Although their unique behaviour makes them superior to conventional materials in many practical applications, they are limited in availability. Here, we propose a new class of hierarchical auxetics based on the rotating rigid units mechanism. These systems retain the enhanced properties from having a negative Poisson's ratio with the added benefits of being a hierarchical system. Using simulations on typical hierarchical multi-level rotating squares, we show that, through design, one can control the extent of auxeticity, degree of aperture and size of the different pores in the system. This makes the system more versatile than similar non-hierarchical ones, making them promising candidates for industrial and biomedical applications, such as stents and skin grafts.

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