A two-dimensional material with similar physical properties to graphene has now turned out to blow graphene out of the water in terms of toughness.

The material is called hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN), and it’s so resistant to cracking that scientists are gobsmacked. The finding flies in the face of the fundamental description of fracture mechanics that scientists have been using to predict and define toughness since the 1920s.

https://www.sciencealert.com/this-two-dimensional-material-is-even-tougher-than-graphene

Interesting. Although the last sentence “Apparently, even Griffith couldn’t foresee such drastically different fracture behaviors in two brittle materials with similar atomic structures” is a bit silly. Griffith’s wasn’t looking at atomic structures but rather macroscopic material.

Quite. They knew shit all about fine structure a hundred years ago.

Graphene. Such a luverlee name for a girl.

Woodie said:

Graphene. Such a luverlee name for a girl.

I’m begging of you please don’t h-BN

fsm said:

A two-dimensional material with similar physical properties to graphene has now turned out to blow graphene out of the water in terms of toughness.

The material is called hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN), and it’s so resistant to cracking that scientists are gobsmacked. The finding flies in the face of the fundamental description of fracture mechanics that scientists have been using to predict and define toughness since the 1920s.

https://www.sciencealert.com/this-two-dimensional-material-is-even-tougher-than-graphene

That is indeed QI.

buffy said:

fsm said:

A two-dimensional material with similar physical properties to graphene has now turned out to blow graphene out of the water in terms of toughness.

The material is called hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN), and it’s so resistant to cracking that scientists are gobsmacked. The finding flies in the face of the fundamental description of fracture mechanics that scientists have been using to predict and define toughness since the 1920s.

https://www.sciencealert.com/this-two-dimensional-material-is-even-tougher-than-graphene

That is indeed QI.

Nice!

Now that I come to think of it, a lot of crystals have 2-D slices through that are hexabonal.

Checking up what Boron Nitride normally looks like.

Boron Nitride “exists in various crystalline forms that are isoelectronic to a similarly structured carbon lattice. The hexagonal form corresponding to graphite is the most stable and soft among BN polymorphs, and is therefore used as a lubricant and an additive to cosmetic products.”

Really quite weird.