Designable ductility of a nano-network from few-layered graphene bonded with benzene: A molecular dynamics study

TL;DR

This study uses molecular dynamics simulations to design a corrugated graphene-based nano-network bonded with benzene, aiming to enhance ductility for nanoscale motion operations.

Contribution

It introduces a novel corrugated carbon nano-network model with benzene bonds to improve ductility of graphene-based materials.

Findings

Ductility increases with specific network geometries.

Temperature and strain rate significantly affect ductility.

The proposed design offers potential for flexible nanoscale devices.

Abstract

In nanoscale, motion operation of a nano-objective is usually realized by displacement load, which put forwards high requirement for ductility of material. Since pristine graphene has low ductility, once the stretching strain exceeds its critical value, it breaks in brittle style and loses ability to bear the external load quickly. Herein, to improve the ductility, a corrugated sandwich carbon nano-network model based on few-layered graphene is proposed, in which the two surface layers are bonded with several corrugated core layers via benzene molecules. Effects of factors such as the geometry of the carbon network, temperature, and strain rate, on the ductility are evaluated by molecular dynamics simulations. Conclusions are drawn for potential application of the new two-dimensional material with designable ductility.