Figure 6.

Material comparison, network encapsulation, and electromechanical characterization. (A) Changes in both the electrical conductivity and optical density at 1000 nm of MgB₂ films (from data shown in Figure 5F,G) as a function of storage time in ambient conditions. Both data sets show a similar exponential decay, which implies the two different methods yield a comparable result for the nanomaterial decomposition kinetics. (B, C) Initial conductivity (B) and nanosheet half-life (C) for liquid deposited networks of MgB₂, CrB₂, and ZrB₂ nanosheets. (D) Evolution of the MgB₂ network conductivity before and after encapsulation. After an initial drop postencapsulation, which we attribute to changes in the thin film morphology, the conductivity stabilizes for times > 300 h. Inset: I–V curves for a MgB₂ nanosheet thin film after 4 iterative Langmuir-type depositions. The green curve was recorded immediately postdeposition. A number of additional curves were recorded at defined time intervals after encapsulation of the film using a spray-on polymer, with the red curve corresponding to the first I–V measurement after encapsulation. (E) Fractional resistance change of a MgB₂ film as a function of applied strain. Inset: optical photograph of MgB₂ nanosheets deposited on PET after 4 iterations of the Langmuir-type deposition method.