Controllable and Predictable Viscoelastic Behavior of 3D Boron‐Doped Multiwalled Carbon Nanotube Sponges |
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| Authors: | Wenjie Zhao Ana L Elias Lakshmy P Rajukumar Hyung‐Ick Kim Daniel J O'Brien Brandon K Zimmerman Evgeni S Penev Mauricio Terrones Boris I Yakobson Bingqing Wei X Lucas Lu Jonghwan Suhr |
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| Institution: | 1. Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Delaware, Newark, DE, USA;2. Department of Physics and Center for 2‐Dimensional and Layered Materials, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA, USA;3. Department of Materials Science and Engineering, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA, USA;4. Region Advanced Manufacturing Technology Agency, Korea Institute of Industrial Technology, Jinju, Republic of Korea;5. Weapons and Materials Research Directorate, U.S. Army Research Laboratory, MD, USA;6. Department of Materials Science and NanoEngineering, Rice University, Houston, TX, USA;7. Research Center for Exotic Nanocarbons (JST), Shinshu University, Nagano, Japan;8. Department of Polymer Science and Engineering, Department of Energy Science, Sungkyunkwan University, Jangan‐gu, Suwon, South Korea |
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| Abstract: | 3D carbon nanotube (CNT)‐based macrostructures are the subject of extensive attention because the outstanding properties of 1D and 2D nanostructures have not been fully translated into key engineering applications. Generation of 3D CNT architectures with covalent junctions could endow the new materials with extraordinary mechanical properties. In this study, detailed experimental characterization and statistical comparison are carried out on 3D boron‐doped multiwalled CNT (CBxMWNT) sponges with covalent junctions and undoped multiwalled CNT (undoped‐MWNT) sponges without junctions. By investigating the plastic, elastic, viscoelastic, and dynamic viscoelastic properties of both sponges, as well as the dependency of these mechanical properties on material morphology, the CBxMWNT sponge is found to be a more predictable and stable material than the undoped‐MWNT sponge. Statistical comparison proves that the excellent properties of the CBxMWNT are attributed to its “elbow‐like” junctions inside the 3D networks, which prevent permanent buckling and bundling of the CNTs under extreme loading. Thus, by optimizing the covalent junctions in 3D CNT sponges, their functional behavior can be controlled and regulated. These findings may promote applications of 3D CNT sponges in various fields, including biomedical or high‐precision devices in which lightweight, controllable, and reliable mechanical properties are always desirable. |
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| Keywords: | 3D carbon nanotube sponges compression density plastic deformation viscoelasticity |
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