Graphene: The more you bend it, the softer it gets

Engineers at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign have combined atomic-scale experimentation with computer modeling to determine how much energy it takes to bend multilayer graphene – a question that has eluded scientists since graphene was first isolated. By draping multiple layers of graphene over a step just one to five atoms high, the researchers created a controlled and precise way of measuring how the material would bend over the step in different configurations.