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Updated: Oct 25, 2025

Residue-Free Fabrication of van der Waals Heterostructures of Two-Dimensional Materials
Published on: July 18, 2025
Experimental Adhesion Energy in van der Waals Crystals and Heterostructures from Atomically Thin Bubbles
Elena Blundo1, Tanju Yildirim2, Giorgio Pettinari3
1Physics Department, Sapienza University of Rome, 00185 Roma, Italy.
Abstract:
The formation of gas-filled bubbles on the surface of van der Waals crystals provides an ideal platform whereby the interplay of the elastic parameters and interlayer forces can be suitably investigated. Here, we combine experimental and numerical efforts to study the morphology of the bubbles at equilibrium and highlight unexpected behaviors that contrast with the common assumptions. We exploit such observations to develop an accurate analytical model to describe the shape and strain of the bubbles and exploit it to measure the adhesion energy between a variety of van der Waals crystals, showing sizable material-dependent trends.
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