Shock waves in graphene and boron nitride

IA Shepelev and AP Chetverikov and SV Dmitriev and EA Korznikova, COMPUTATIONAL MATERIALS SCIENCE, 177, 109549 (2020).

DOI: 10.1016/j.commatsci.2020.109549

Layered materials composed of weakly bonded rigid layers are of interest in modern material science since they exhibit new mechanisms of deformation when compressed along the layers. High strain-rate dynamics of such materials remains mostly unexplored, while some of potential applications, such as ballistic protection or high frequency loading, dictate the need for such research. This work is devoted to molecular dynamics investigation of the in-plane shock waves propagating in hexagonal lattices of graphene and boron nitride. It is shown that in graphene the shock waves radiate energy and slow down faster than in boron nitride. Shock wave attenuation in both materials is faster for the waves moving along the armchair direction as compared to the zigzag direction. These results are explained considering energy dissipation mechanism based on the analysis of oscillations of valence angles and valence bond lengths initiated by the shock wave. Our study uncovers the mechanisms of energy transport and dissipation in layered materials subject to high-speed loading along the layers.

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