Locally strained hexagonal boron nitride nanosheets quantified by nanoscale infrared spectroscopy

Defect engineering in two-dimensional materials expands the realm of their applications in catalysis, nanoelectronics, sensing, and beyond. As limited tools are available to explore nanoscale functional properties in non-vacuum environments, theoretical modeling provides some invaluable insight into the effect of local deformations to deepen the understanding of experimental signals acquired by nanoscale chemical imaging. We demonstrate the controlled creation of nanoscale strained defects in hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN) using atomic force microscopy and infrared (IR) light under an inert environment. Nanoscale IR spectroscopy reveals the broadening of the in-plane phonon (E_1u) mode of h-BN during defect formation while density functional theory-based calculations and molecular dynamics provide quantification of the tensile and compressive strain in the deformation.