Microstructural Investigation of CNT-Metal Bonding Behavior through Computational Simulations

Abstract

Mechanism of CNT-metal bonding is investigated using molecular dynamics in this study. Both bonding and debonding process are considered. It is shown that the bonding can be achieved at a temperature lower than the melting point. The surface melting and capillary wetting dominate the bonding process. In addition, there are two potential failure positions, one is at CNT-Ni interface and the other is at nickel surface which are determined by the strength competition of these two interfaces. To obtain high bonding strength we should form coalescence structure between CNT and the metal at a higher temperature to achieve larger contact length. Also we find that the debonding process experiences elastic deformation followed by debonding at CNT-Ni or Ni–Ni interface.