Detachment Dynamics of Graphene Nanoribbons on Gold

Metal-surface physisorbed graphene nanoribbons (GNRs) constitute mobile nanocontacts whose interest is simultaneously mechanical, electronic, and tribological. Previous work showed that GNRs adsorbed on Au(111) generally slide smoothly and superlubrically owing to the incommensurability of their structures. We address here the nanomechanics of detachment, as realized when one end is picked up and lifted by an AFM cantilever. AFM nanomanipulations and molecular-dynamics (MD) simulations identify two successive regimes, characterized by (i) a progressively increasing local bending, accompanied by the smooth sliding of the adhered part, followed by (ii) a stick-slip dynamics involving sudden bending relaxation associated with intermittent jumps of the remaining adhered GNR segment and tail end. AFM measurements of the vertical force exhibit oscillations which, compared with MD simulations, can be associated with the successive detachment of individual GNR unit cells of length 0.42 nm. Extra modulations within one single period are caused by steplike advancements of the still-physisorbed part of the GNR. The sliding of the incommensurate moiré pattern that accompanies the GNR lifting generally yields an additional long-period oscillation: while almost undetectable when the GNR is aligned in the standard "R30" orientation on Au(111), we predict that such feature should become prominent in the alternative rotated "R0" orientation on the same surface, or on a different surface, such as perhaps Ag(111).