Continuous Zachariasen carbon monolayers under tensile deformation: Insights from molecular dynamics simulations

Abstract

From a series of molecular dynamics simulations, we show how the mechanical behaviour of amorphous carbon monolayers can be altered as a function of the underlying network topology. We control both the ring size as well as the ring neighbourhood distribution based on a Monte Carlo dual bond-switching algorithm. This leads to non-planar carbon monolayers whose out-of-plane displacements depend on the level of amorphousness. Subsequent tensile deformation reveals that increasing the network heterogeneity decreases both the tensile strength as well as the stiffness in the elastic range. Furthermore, we investigate the statistics of the elementary plastic events in the amorphous carbon monolayers and report on the power-law distribution of the stress-drops associated with the plastic deformation. The results of this study provide insights into the role of structural disorder of a carbon monolayer and can be used to modify its physical properties.