DMREF: Mechanics of Three-Dimensional Carbon Nanotube Aerogels with Tunable Junctions

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This Designing Materials to Revolutionize and Engineer our Future (DMREF) grant provides funding for the development of a systematic and comprehensive understanding of how the mechanical properties of three-dimensional carbon nanotube aerogels depend on pore geometry, pore size distribution, and the characteristics of the junctions between nanotubes to improve the performance and to predict an optimal design of nanotube based porous structures. The mechanical properties of the nanotube aerogels can be readily manipulated via modification of the junctions or ?nodes? between the nanotubes. For example, coating the nodes with graphene layers transforms these aerogels into superelastic and fatigue resistant materials. Further, the nanotube aerogel is a strong example of a nearly ideal rigid rod network, and lends itself for comparison with simulations of an ideal percolating network of rigid rods. The project will begin with the development of three-dimensional mechanical models for nanotube aerogels that include realistic network structures as well as nanotube and junction properties that approximate experimental system. The mechanical properties of the aerogels, including modulus and hysteresis, as a function of network and junction parameters will then be measured. By varying the junction properties, the range of available nanotube aerogel properties will be surveyed in order to provide insight and guidance on desirable (and unfavorable) junction characteristics. The guidance from simulations will then be translated to fabricate three-dimensional nanotube networks with diverse junctions that are coated with graphene, covalently crosslinked, and fused with continuous hybridized bonds.If successful, the results of this research will not only facilitate the development of a deep understanding of the behavior of highly porous networks, but also have significant practical applications. Conducting and porous materials with high surface area and mechanical integrity are actively sought for energy applications as an improved electrode material in batteries, fuel cells, and supercapacitors. The ability to predict, design, and synthesize these structures with computation coupled with experiment will advance the pace at which electrode materials can be designed, and will serve as a model for advancing other porous materials.