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Synergistic Behavior of Tubes, Junctions, and Sheets Imparts Mechano-Mutable Functionality in 3D Porous Boron Nitride Nanostructures
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posted on 2015-12-17, 04:53 authored by Navid Sakhavand, Rouzbeh ShahsavariOne-dimensional (1D) boron nitride
nanotube (BNNT) and 2D hexagonal
BN (h-BN) are attractive for demonstrating fundamental
physics and promising applications in nano-/microscale devices. However,
there is a high anisotropy associated with these BN allotropes as
their excellent properties are either along the tube axis or in-plane
directions, posing an obstacle in their widespread use in technological
and industrial applications. Herein, we report a series of 3D BN prototypes,
namely, pillared boron nitride (PBN), by fusing single-wall BNNT and
monolayer h-BN aimed at filling this gap. We use
density functional theory and molecular dynamics simulations to probe
the diverse mechano-mutable properties of PBN prototypes. Our results
demonstrate that the synergistic effect of the tubes, junctions, and
sheets imparts cooperative deformation mechanisms, which overcome
the intrinsic limitations of the PBN constituents and provide a number
of superior characteristics including 3D balance of strength and toughness,
emergence of negative Poisson’s ratio, and elimination of strain
softening along the armchair orientation. These features, combined
with the ultrahigh surface area and lightweight structure, render
PBN as a 3D multifunctional template for applications in graphene-based
nanoelectronics, optoelectronics, gas storage, and functional composites
with fascinating in-plane and out-of-plane tailorable properties.