Hybridly double-crosslinked carbon nanotube networks with combined strength and toughness via cooperative energy dissipation

Abstract

Although chemical crosslinking has been extensively explored to enhance the mechanical properties of network-type materials for structural and energy (electrochemical, thermal, etc.) applications, loading-induced energy dissipations usually occur through a single channel that either leads to network brittleness or low strength/stiffness. In this work, we apply coarse-grained molecular dynamics simulations to explore the potential of hybridly double-crosslinked carbon nanotube (CNT) networks as a light weight functional material with combined strength and toughness. While increasing the crosslinking density or strong crosslink composition may, in general, enhance the strength and toughness, further increasing the two parameters would surprisingly lead to deteriorated strength and toughness. We find that double-crosslinked networks can nicely achieve cooperative energy dissipation with minimal structural damage. In particular, the weak crosslinks serve as “sacrificial bonds” to dissipate elastic energies from external loading, while the strong crosslinks act as “structure holders” and break at a much later stage during the tensile test. Therefore, the combination of more than one type of crosslinking with hybrid potential energy landscapes and breaking time scales can prevent premature simultaneous breaking of multiple strong crosslinks. By deploying intermediate amounts of weak and strong crosslinks, we observe an outstanding density-normalized strength of 227–2130 kPa m³ kg⁻¹ as compared to many structural materials and advanced nanocomposites. The crosslinking strategies developed here would pave new avenues for the rational design of functional network materials beyond CNTs, such as hydrogels, nanofibers, and nanocomposites.