Mechanical properties of boron nitride sheet with randomly distributed vacancy defects

Defects and temperature effects on the mechanical properties of hexagonal boron nitride sheet (h-BN) containing randomly distributed defects are investigated by molecular dynamics simulations and the reasons of the results are discussed. Results show that defect deteriorate the mechanical performance of BNNS. The mechanical properties are reduced by increasing percentage of vacancy defects including fracture strength, fracture strain and Young's modulus. Simulations also indicate that the mechanical properties decrease with the temperature increasing. Moreover, defects affect the stable configuration at high temperature. With the percentage of defect increases the nanostructures become more and more unstable. Positions of the defect influent the mechanical properties. The higher the temperature and the percentage of defect are, the stronger the position of the randomly distributed defect affects the mechanical properties. The study provides a theoretical basis for the preparation and performance optimization of BNNSs.