Electrified fracture of nanotube films

Jinbo Bian, Shijun Wang, Zhaokuan Yu, Zhong Zhang, and Zhiping Xu

Phys. Rev. Materials 8, 026001 – Published 15 February 2024

Abstract

Strong and conductive carbon nanotube films are ideal candidates for lightning-strike protection. Understanding their failure mechanisms by considering the anisotropic and single-fiber nature is essential to improve the performance. Our experimental studies show that the single-layer, nanometer-thick films fail under electrification by crack nucleation and propagation, reminiscent of brittle and ductile fracture of materials under mechanical loads. Sharp and diffuse patterns of fracture are identified in aligned and nonwoven films, respectively, signaling the strong effect of material anisotropy that is absent in common engineering materials. The fracture is driven by local Joule heating concentrated at the crack fronts instead of force-induced breakage, which is validated by experimental characterization and simulation results at both continuum and atomistic levels.

Received 22 November 2023
Accepted 24 January 2024

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevMaterials.8.026001

Physics Subject Headings (PhySH)

Electric field effects Fracture

Condensed Matter, Materials & Applied Physics

Authors & Affiliations

Jinbo Bian^1,2, Shijun Wang ³, Zhaokuan Yu^2,4, Zhong Zhang^5,6,*, and Zhiping Xu ^1,2,†

¹Applied Mechanics Laboratory and Department of Engineering Mechanics, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, China
²Center for Nano and Micro Mechanics, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, China
³CAS Key Laboratory of Nanosystem and Hierarchical Fabrication, CAS Center for Excellence in Nanoscience, National Center for Nanoscience and Technology, Beijing 100190, China
⁴Department of Physics, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310027, China
⁵CAS Key Laboratory of Mechanical Behavior and Design of Materials, Department of Modern Mechanics, School of Engineering Science, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei 230027, China
⁶CAS Key Laboratory of Nanosystem and Hierarchical Fabrication, CAS Center for Excellence in Nanoscience, National Center for Nanoscience and Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100190, China

^*zhongzhang@ustc.edu.cn
^†xuzp@tsinghua.edu.cn

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Issue

Vol. 8, Iss. 2 — February 2024

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