Wallpapering-inspired spreading and wrinkling of atomically-thin materials

Abstract

We propose a novel wallpapering-inspired strategy to create wrinkles in a desired location and direction of single-layer graphene (Gr). The key to controlling the wrinkles is to regulate the permeation and release of solution through a regular array of holes between the substrate surface and Gr-based thin membrane (Gr/Cu in the first stage and Gr in the second stage). Microscopic analysis showed that neighboring holes were interconnected by straightened wrinkles with a width of 300-500 nm and height of 10-20 nm, while surface corrugations (e.g., ripples and wrinkles) were suppressed on the planar regions surrounded by wrinkles. Wrinkling mechanism was further verified by in-situ optical microscopy and comparative analysis of Gr/Cu ripples and Gr wrinkles. Our approach is simple yet universally applicable to diverse types of thin membranes, thereby offering a robust and versatile route to engineering properties of atomically thin materials.