The effects of vacancy defect on the fracture behaviors of zigzag graphene nanoribbons

Zigzag graphene nanoribbons with and without single vacancy defect are strained under uniaxial tension using molecular dynamics simulations. In order to understand the influence of vacancy defect on the damage mechanics, the graphene nanoribbons are categorized into six groups based on their width, ranging from 2.5 nm to 15 nm. In each group, the length of GRNGNR also varied from 2.5 nm to 15 nm. The comparison of the stress–strain relationship and the fracture behavior of pristine and defective graphene nanoribbon demonstrate that single vacancy defect has little influence on the elastic modulus and the ultimate strength of graphene nanoribbons. However, size effect does have an influence on the ultimate failure stress of the graphene nanoribbon.