Single-Layer Graphene Membranes Withstand Ultrahigh Applied Pressure

Abstract

High mechanical strength is essential for pressure-driven membrane separations with nanoporous single-layer graphene, but its ability to withstand high pressures remains to be demonstrated. We monitored failure of centimeter-scale single-layer graphene membranes on porous supports subjected to high pressures. Consistent with theory, the membranes were found to withstand higher pressures when placed on porous supports with smaller pore diameters, but failure occurred over a surprisingly broad range of pressures, attributed to heterogeneous susceptibility to failure at wrinkles, defects, and slack in the suspended graphene. Remarkably, nonwrinkled areas withstood pressure exceeding 100 bar at which many kinds of membrane suffer from compaction. Our study shows that single-layer graphene membranes can sustain ultrahigh pressure especially if the effect of wrinkles is isolated using supports with small pores and suggests the potential for the use of single-layer graphene in high-pressure membrane separations.

2D Material Membranes for Operando Atmospheric Pressure Photoelectron Spectroscopy

“…b Corresponding plots of electron transmission for SLG, BLG, and PMMA + BLG, considering only inelastic scattering. Values of λ for Graphite [17] and PMMA [18] are obtained from optical data and interpolation using the modified Bethe equation defective graphene sheets can still be stable as free-standing membranes and sustain large pressure differences [24,38,39]. Graphene further offers electrical conductivity helping to avoid charging during X-ray illumination [40], as well as serving as a current path for electrochemical control during measurements.…”

Elastic straining of free-standing monolayer graphene

“…This very sensitivity to the local atomic structures and prominent geometrical effects in indentation tests 25 limit the technique in providing a reliable assessment of mechanical performance of large-area graphene with engineering relevance in practical applications, such as reinforced composites and electromechanical devices. Burst tests were recently carried out to directly measure the strength of suspended graphene under gas flow measurement, where a wide distribution of burst pressures was reported and attributed to wrinkles and defects 26 . As the engineering strength and strain to failure of a brittle material are controlled by the weakest point, a direct tensile test of large-area crack-free graphene membrane under uniaxial straining condition remains as the most efficient way for a quantitative study.…”

Nanoporous Atomically Thin Graphene Membranes for Desalting and Dialysis Applications

“…Here, atomically thin materials (2D materials) such as graphene (thickness ≈0.34 nm) offer the potential to realize the fundamental limit for physical thickness reduction in L eff . In addition to atomic thinness, graphene also exhibits exceptional mechanical properties, i.e., few‐µm 2 single layer can be suspended over supports and can withstand several atmospheres of pressure . The introduction of precisely engineered defects (narrow size distribution and high density) forms nanopores in these materials and allows for the development of nanoporous atomically thin membranes (NATMs) .…”