Abstract

Efficient assembly of carbon nanotube (CNT) based cellular solids with appropriate structure is the key to fully realize the potential of individual nanotubes in macroscopic architecture. In this work, the macroscopic CNT sponge consisting of randomly interconnected individual carbon nanotubes was grown by CVD, exhibiting a combination of super-elasticity, high strength to weight ratio, fatigue resistance, thermo-mechanical stability and electro-mechanical stability. To deeply understand such extraordinary mechanical performance compared to that of conventional cellular materials and other nanostructured cellular architectures, a thorough study on the response of this CNT-based spongy structure to compression is conducted based on classic elastic theory. The strong inter-tube bonding between neighboring nanotubes is examined, believed to play a critical role in the reversible deformation such as bending and buckling without structural collapse under compression. Based on in-situ scanning electron microscopy observation and nanotube deformation analysis, structural evolution (completely elastic bending-buckling transition) of the carbon nanotubes sponges to deformation is proposed to clarify their mechanical properties and nonlinear electromechanical coupling behavior.

Highlights

  • Efficient assembly of carbon nanotube (CNT) based cellular solids with appropriate structure is the key to fully realize the potential of individual nanotubes in macroscopic architecture

  • Systematic mechanical tests indicated that the resulting CNT sponges could exhibit a combination of super-elasticity, fatigue resistance, thermo-mechanical stability and electro-mechanical stability, which cannot be observed in conventional polymer foam

  • CNT sponges, a sponge-like 3D solids synthesized by a chemical vapor deposition (CVD) method, have been reported in recent publications and have shown promise for environmental applications, smart materials and nanocomposites[25,26,27,28,29,30,31]

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Summary

Introduction

Efficient assembly of carbon nanotube (CNT) based cellular solids with appropriate structure is the key to fully realize the potential of individual nanotubes in macroscopic architecture. The macroscopic CNT sponge consisting of randomly interconnected individual carbon nanotubes was grown by CVD, exhibiting a combination of super-elasticity, high strength to weight ratio, fatigue resistance, thermo-mechanical stability and electro-mechanical stability. To deeply understand such extraordinary mechanical performance compared to that of conventional cellular materials and other nanostructured cellular architectures, a thorough study on the response of this CNT-based spongy structure to compression is conducted based on classic elastic theory. The detailed structure-mechanical analysis at microscopic level proposed in this work is helpful to clarify the origin of the mechanical deformation of 3D carbon materials, develop a basis for structural design and optimization of nanostructured materials based 3D architectures

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