IOP Publishing, Nanotechnology, 38(20), p. 385707, 2009
DOI: 10.1088/0957-4484/20/38/385707
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Bending modulus of exfoliation-made single-crystalline hexagonal boron nitride nanosheets (BNNSs) with thicknesses of 25–300 nm and sizes of 1.2–3.0 µm were measured using three-point bending tests in an atomic force microscope. BNNSs suspended on an SiO2 trench were clamped by a metal film via microfabrication based on electron beam lithography. Calculated by the plate theory of a doubly clamped plate under a concentrated load, the bending modulus of BNNSs was found to increase with the decrease of sheet thickness and approach the theoretical C 33 value of a hexagonal BN single crystal in thinner sheets (thickness<50 nm). The thickness-dependent bending modulus was suggested to be due to the layer distribution of stacking faults which were also thought to be responsible for the layer-by-layer BNNS exfoliation.