Experimental study of the breakage of a two-dimensional crystal

Abstract

In this short review, we summarize a study of the mechanical properties of two-dimensional single crystals obtained at an air-water interface. A micromechanical experiment was performed to keep a crystalline rod under a bending stress in the plane of the water. The single crystal breaks under the effect of the stress after a clearly defined delay time. For large deformations, a second mode of breaking appears and coexists with the previous mode; a fraction of the solids break instantaneously while others break after a delay time. The time-lag breaking is attributed to the spontaneous nucleation of cracks in the solid under stress.