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We have studied the elastic deformation of freely suspended atomically thinsheets of muscovite mica, a widely used electrical insulator in its bulk form.Using an atomic force microscope, we carried out bending test experiments todetermine the Young's modulus and the initial pre-tension of mica nanosheetswith thicknesses ranging from 14 layers down to just one bilayer. We found thattheir Young's modulus is high (190 GPa), in agreement with the bulk value,which indicates that the exfoliation procedure employed to fabricate thesenanolayers does not introduce a noticeable amount of defects. Additionally,ultrathin mica shows low pre-strain and can withstand reversible deformationsup to tens of nanometers without breaking. The low pre-tension and high Young'smodulus and breaking force found in these ultrathin mica layers demonstratestheir prospective use as a complement for graphene in applications requiringflexible insulating materials or as reinforcement in nanocomposites.

Mechanical properties of freely suspended atomically thin dielectric layers of mica