Mechanical behavior of ultralight nickel metamaterial

The mechanical response of ultralight kagomé structures consisting of hollow nickel (Ni) nanotubes and solid Ni nanorods to compression is studied using molecular dynamics simulations. In both kagomé architectures, 1 6 [112] Shockley partial dislocations and twin formation are observed under compression. The structure made from solid nanorods shows deformation near both the nodes and beams of the kagomé lattice. The hollow kagomé architecture has a higher yield point than the solid kagomé structure. The deformation in the hollow nanotube structure is mostly localized in the nodal region for strains less than 11%. At higher strains, the deformation sets in all the struts and nodes of the hollow kagomé lattice. Owing to this two-stage deformation mechanism, the hollow Ni nanotube kagomé structure shows less bending and greater toughness than the solid Ni nanorod kagomé architecture.