A Molecular Simulation Approach to Bond Reorganization in Epoxy Resins: From Curing to Deformation and Fracture.

We model bond formation and dissociation processes in thermosetting polymer networks from molecular dynamics simulations. For this, a coarsened molecular mechanics model is derived from quantum calculations to provide effective interaction potentials that enable million-atoms scale simulations. The importance of bond (re)organization is demonstrated for (i) simulating epoxy resin formation-for which our approach leads to realistic network models which can now account for degrees of curing up to 98%.

Microscopic Deformation Modes and Impact of Network Anisotropy on the Mechanical and Electrical Performance of Five-fold Twinned Silver Nanowire Electrodes.

Silver nanowire (AgNW) networks show excellent optical, electrical, and mechanical properties, which make them ideal candidates for transparent electrodes in flexible and stretchable devices. Various coating strategies and testing setups have been developed to further improve their stretchability and to evaluate their performance. Still, a comprehensive microscopic understanding of the relationship between mechanical and electrical failure is missing.

In-situ observation of the initiation of plasticity by nucleation of prismatic dislocation loops.

The elastic-to-plastic transition during the deformation of a dislocation-free nanoscale volume is accompanied by displacement bursts associated with dislocation nucleation. The dislocations that nucleate during the so-called "pop-in" burst take the form of prismatic dislocation loops (PDLs) and exhibit characteristic burst-like emission and plastic recovery. Here, we report the in-situ transmission electron microscopy (TEM) observation of the initial plasticity ensued by burst-like emission of PDLs on nanoindentation of dislocation-free Au nanowires.

Idealized vs. Realistic Microstructures: An Atomistic Simulation Case Study on γ/γ Microstructures.

Single-crystal Ni-base superalloys, consisting of a two-phase / γ ' microstructure, retain high strengths at elevated temperatures and are key materials for high temperature applications, like, e.g., turbine blades of aircraft engines.

BDA: A novel method for identifying defects in body-centered cubic crystals.

The accurate and fast identification of crystallographic defects plays a key role for the analysis of atomistic simulation output data. For face-centered cubic (fcc) metals, most existing structure analysis tools allow for the direct distinction of common defects, such as stacking faults or certain low-index surfaces. For body-centered cubic (bcc) metals, on the other hand, a robust way to identify such defects is currently not easily available.

Size-Dependent Brittle-to-Ductile Transition in Silica Glass Nanofibers.

Silica (SiO2) glass, an essential material in human civilization, possesses excellent formability near its glass-transition temperature (Tg > 1100 °C). However, bulk SiO2 glass is very brittle at room temperature. Here we show a surprising brittle-to-ductile transition of SiO2 glass nanofibers at room temperature as its diameter reduces below 18 nm, accompanied by ultrahigh fracture strength.

Impact of twin boundaries on bulk elastic constants: Density-functional theory data for Young׳s modulus of Ag.

Experimental and theoretical studies on nanowires have reported a size-dependence of the Young׳s modulus in the axial direction, which has been attributed to the increasing influence of surface stresses with decreasing wire diameter. Internal interfaces and their associated interface stresses could lead to similar changes in the elastic properties. In Kobler et al.

Shearing in a biomimetic apatite-protein composite: molecular dynamics of slip zone formation, plastic flow and backcreep mechanisms.

We report molecular dynamics simulations of shear in a biomimetic hydroxyapatite-collagen composite. Our model exhibits elastic properties fully dominated by the inorganic component. However, beyond the elastic regime the biomolecules along with the hierarchical nature of the composite account for the formation of structure-inherent slip zones.

Combining atomistic simulation and X-ray diffraction for the characterization of nanostructures: a case study on fivefold twinned nanowires.

Recent progress in achieving high degrees of monodispersity in chemical synthesis of complex nanostructures creates the unique situation in which individual nanostructures become representative for the whole ensemble. Under these conditions, atomistic simulations can play a completely new role in interpreting structural data obtained from averaging techniques. We apply this approach to fivefold twinned Ag nanowires for which the existence of an ambient-stable tetragonal phase in the nanowire core has been recently proposed.

Reversible cyclic deformation mechanism of gold nanowires by twinning-detwinning transition evidenced from in situ TEM.

Mechanical response of metal nanowires has recently attracted a lot of interest due to their ultra-high strengths and unique deformation behaviours. Atomistic simulations have predicted that face-centered cubic metal nanowires deform in different modes depending on the orientation between wire axis and loading direction. Here we report, by combination of in situ transmission electron microscopy and molecular dynamic simulation, the conditions under which particular deformation mechanisms take place during the uniaxial loading of [110]-oriented Au nanowires.

Structural relaxation made simple.

We introduce a simple local atomic structure optimization algorithm which is significantly faster than standard implementations of the conjugate gradient method and often competitive with more sophisticated quasi-Newton schemes typically used in ab initio calculations. It is based on conventional molecular dynamics with additional velocity modifications and adaptive time steps. The surprising efficiency and especially the robustness and versatility of the method is illustrated using a variety of test cases from nanoscience, solid state physics, materials research, and biochemistry.