Stability, elastic properties, and electronic structure of germanane nanoribbons

The stability, elastic properties, and electronic structure of germanane nanoribbons (GeNRs) are studied from first-principles calculations. When using atomic H as the hydrogen source, a germanane monolayer spontaneously breaks into ribbons. GeNRs can be easily stretched due to their small in-plane stiffness, suggesting that it is feasible to modulate their properties by strain. All GeNRs show direct band gaps at the Γ point when external strain is zero, with the gap value decreasing with increasing ribbon width. When axial tensile strain is applied, the band gap decreases, and a direct-to-indirect gap transition occurs. The transition can be attributed to different deformation potentials of different states in the valence band. These results suggest potential applications of GeNRs in the fields of pressure sensors and tunable optical electronics.