Graphene, a single-atom-thick sheet of carbon, is stronger than steel and as stiff as diamond. Yet, this tough, thin material can also be induced to peel itself to pieces.
Puncturing a hole in graphene with a diamond tip and repeatedly moving that tip back and forth — rather like rucking up a carpet — causes narrow strips of carbon to curl spontaneously upwards, tearing out of the graphene layer and even folding back on themselves, scientists from Trinity College Dublin report in an article in Nature1 on 13 July.
