@article{3fff9925f0c6485886a532cfe8544265,
title = "In Situ Scanning Transmission Electron Microscopy Observations of Fracture at the Atomic Scale",
abstract = "The formation, propagation, and structure of nanoscale cracks determine the failure mechanics of engineered materials. Herein, we have captured, with atomic resolution and in real time, unit cell-by-unit cell lattice-trapped cracking in two-dimensional (2D) rhenium disulfide (ReS2) using in situ aberration corrected scanning transmission electron microscopy (STEM). Our real time observations of atomic configurations and corresponding strain fields in propagating cracks directly reveal the atomistic fracture mechanisms. The entirely brittle fracture with non-blunted crack tips as well as perfect healing of cracks have been observed. The mode I fracture toughness of 2D ReS2 is measured. Our experiments have bridged the linear elastic deformation zone and the ultimate nm-sized nonlinear deformation zone inside the crack tip. The dynamics of fracture has been explained by the atomic lattice trapping model. The direct visualization on the strain field in the ongoing crack tips and the gained insights of discrete bond breaking or healing in cracks will facilitate deeper insights into how atoms are able to withstand exceptionally large strains at the crack tips. ",
author = "Lingli Huang and Fangyuan Zheng and Qingming Deng and Thi, {Quoc Huy} and Wong, {Lok Wing} and Yuan Cai and Ning Wang and Lee, {Chun Sing} and Lau, {Shu Ping} and Manish Chhowalla and Ju Li and Ly, {Thuc Hue} and Jiong Zhao",
note = "Funding Information: This work was supported by National Science Foundation of China (Projects No.?51872248, No.?21703076, No.?51922113), the Hong Kong Research Grant Council under Collaborative Research Fund (Project No.?C6021-14EF), Early Career Scheme (Projects No.?25301018, No.?21303218), General Research Fund (Project No.?15302419), City University of Hong Kong (Project No.?9610387), Polytechnic Unviersity (ZVGH, ZVRP), Natural Science Foundation of Jiangsu Province of China (Project No.?BK20170466), 333 High-level Talents Cultivating Project of Jiangsu Province (Project No.?BRA2018341), Natural Science Research Program of Jiangsu Higher Education Institution (18KJA140001) and Shenzhen Science and Technology Innovation Commission (Project No.?JCYJ20170818104717087). Fund of Key Laboratory of Advanced Materials of Ministry of Education. We thank Weibo Zhao for assistances in manuscript preparation. Funding Information: This work was supported by National Science Foundation of China (Projects No. 51872248, No. 21703076, No. 51922113), the Hong Kong Research Grant Council under Collaborative Research Fund (Project No. C6021-14EF), Early Career Scheme (Projects No. 25301018, No. 21303218), General Research Fund (Project No. 15302419), City University of Hong Kong (Project No. 9610387), Polytechnic Unviersity (ZVGH, ZVRP), Natural Science Foundation of Jiangsu Province of China (Project No. BK20170466), 333 High-level Talents Cultivating Project of Jiangsu Province (Project No. BRA2018341), Natural Science Research Program of Jiangsu Higher Education Institution (18KJA140001) and Shenzhen Science and Technology Innovation Commission (Project No. JCYJ20170818104717087). Fund of Key Laboratory of Advanced Materials of Ministry of Education. We thank Weibo Zhao for assistances in manuscript preparation. Publisher Copyright: {\textcopyright} 2020 authors. Published by the American Physical Society. Published by the American Physical Society under the terms of the {"}https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/{"}Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International license. Further distribution of this work must maintain attribution to the author(s) and the published article's title, journal citation, and DOI.",
year = "2020",
month = dec,
day = "9",
doi = "10.1103/PhysRevLett.125.246102",
language = "English",
volume = "125",
journal = "Physical Review Letters",
issn = "0031-9007",
publisher = "American Physical Society",
number = "24",
}