  In this study, we systematically investigated the mechanical responses of
monolayer molybdenum ditelluride (MoTe2) using molecular dynamics (MD)
simulations. The tensile behavior of trigonal prismatic phase (2H phase) MoTe2
under uniaxial strain was simulated in the armchair and zigzag directions. We
also investigated the crack formation and propagation in both armchair and
zigzag directions at 10K and 300K to understand the fracture behavior of
monolayer MoTe2 at different temperatures. The MD simulations show clean
cleavage for the armchair direction, and the cracks were numerous and scattered
in the case of the zigzag direction. Finally, we investigated the effect of
temperature on Young's modulus and fracture stress of monolayer MoTe2. The
results show that at a strain rate of 10^-4 ps^-1, the fracture strength of
monolayer MoTe2 in the armchair and zigzag directions at 10K is 16.33 GPa
(11.43 N/m) and 13.71 GPa (9.46 N/m) under a 24% and 18% fracture strain,
respectively. The fracture strength of monolayer MoTe2 in the armchair and
zigzag direction at 600K is 10.81 GPa (7.56 N/m) and 10.13 GPa (7.09 N/m) under
a 12.5% and 12.47% fracture strain, respectively.
