  Herein, we investigate the structural, electronic and mechanical properties
of zigzag graphene nanoribbons upon the presence of stress applying Density
Functional Theory within the GGA-PBE approximation. The uniaxial stress is
applied along the periodic direction, allowing a unitary deformation in the
range of +/- 0.02%. The mechanical properties show a linear-response within
that range while the non-linear dependence is found for higher strain. The most
relevant results indicate that Young's modulus is considerable higher than
those determined for graphene and carbon nanotubes. The geometrical
reconstruction of the C-C bonds at the edges hardness the nanostructure.
Electronic structure features are not sensitive to strain in this linear
elastic regime, being an additional promise for the using of carbon
nanostructures in nano-electronic devices in the near future.

Materials Science;Other Condensed Matter