Stretchable Carbon Nanotube Films

Lihua Jin, Shaswat Mohanty

We have developed a coarse-grained molecular statics (CGMS) model for carbon nanotube (CNT) networks forming a 2-dimensional film that is both conducting and stretchable.  The model predicts how the morphology of the CNT network evolve during loading/unloading cycles (see below).  From this model, we can also predict how the electrical resistance of the film evolve with strain; excellent agreement is found between theoretical prediction and experimental measurements. We have shown the applicability of this model for a 3D morphology with the hysteretic behaviour being strongly dependent on the initialization of the fibers in space.