Mechanotunable Microstructures of Carbon Nanotube Networks

Cohesive but noncovalent interfaces between carbon nanotubes lead to remarkably microstructural evolution of networked materials under mechanical loads. We explore self-organization of these nanofibers, their mechanical properties, and also energy dissipation capacity in response to cycling strain loading. By performing coarse-grained molecular dynamics simulations, the underlying mechanisms are discussed. Their dependence on the strain amplitude and properties of carbon nanotubes are revealed, which opens new possibilities in mechanical tuning of microstructures in carbon nanotubes networks for mechanical, electrochemical, and filtration applications, where the performance is critically defined by microstructures.