Young's Modulus and Tensile Strength of Ti3C2 MXene Nanosheets As Revealed by In Situ TEM Probing, AFM Nanomechanical Mapping, and Theoretical Calculations.

Two-dimensional transition metal carbides, that is, MXenes and especially Ti3C2, attract attention due to their excellent combination of properties. Ti3C2 nanosheets could be the material of choice for future flexible electronics, energy storage, and electromechanical nanodevices. There has been limited information available on the mechanical properties of Ti3C2, which is essential for their utilization. We have fabricated Ti3C2 nanosheets and studied their mechanical properties using direct in situ tensile tests inside a transmission electron microscope, quantitative nanomechanical mapping, and theoretical calculations employing machine-learning derived potentials. Young's modulus in the direction perpendicular to the Ti3C2 basal plane was found to be 80-100 GPa. The tensile strength of Ti3C2 nanosheets reached up to 670 MPa for ∼40 nm thin nanoflakes, while a strong dependence of tensile strength on nanosheet thickness was demonstrated. Theoretical calculations allowed us to study mechanical characteristics of Ti3C2 as a function of nanosheet geometrical parameters and structural defect concentration.

Crystallography-Derived Young's Modulus and Tensile Strength of AlN Nanowires as Revealed by in Situ Transmission Electron Microscopy.

Aluminum nitride (AlN) has a unique combination of properties, such as high chemical and thermal stability, nontoxicity, high melting point, large energy band gap, high thermal conductivity, and intensive light emission. This combination makes AlN nanowires (NWs) a prospective material for optoelectronic and field-emission nanodevices. However, there has been very limited information on mechanical properties of AlN NWs that is essential for their reliable utilization in modern technologies. Herein, we thoroughly study mechanical properties of individual AlN NWs using direct,  in situ bending and tensile tests inside a high-resolution TEM. Overall, 22 individual NWs have been tested, and a strong dependence of their Young's moduli and ultimate tensile strengths (UTS) on their growth axis crystallographic orientation is documented. The Young's modulus of NWs grown along the [101̅1] orientation is found to be in a range 160-260 GPa, whereas for those grown along the [0002] orientation it falls within a range 350-440 GPa. In situ TEM tensile tests demonstrate the UTS values up to 8.2 GPa for the [0002]-oriented NWs, which is more than 20 times larger than that of a bulk AlN compound. Such properties make AlN nanowires a highly promising material for the reinforcing applications in metal matrix and other composites. Finally, experimental results were compared and verified under a density functional theory simulation, which shows the pronounced effect of growth axis on the AlN NW mechanical behavior. The modeling reveals that with an increasing NW width the Young's modulus tends to approach the elastic constants of a bulk material.

Operando Investigation of Silicon Anodes During Electrochemical Cycling in Li-ion Batteries.

Silicon (Si) is recognized as a promising anode material for next-generation anodes due to its high capacity. However, large volume expansion and active particle pulverization during cycling rapidly deteriorate the battery performance. The relationship between Si anode particle size and particle pulverization, and the structure evolution of Si particles during cycling is not well understood. In this study, a quantitative, time-resolved "operando" small angle X-ray scattering (SAXS) investigation into the morphological change of unwrapped and reduced graphene oxide (rGO) wrapped Si nanoparticles (Si@rGO) is conducted with respect to the operating voltage. The results provide a clear picture of Si particle size change and the role of nonrigid rGO in mitigating Si volume expansion and pulverization. Further, this study demonstrates the advantage of "operando" SAXS in electrochemical environments as compared to other approaches.