The fabrication of light-weight, highly impact-resistant, and energy-absorbent materials is urgently demanded in many facets of the society from body armor to aerospace engineering, especially under an extreme environment. Carbon nanotubes (CNTs), one of the strongest and toughest materials ever found, also have good conductivity, chemical stability, and thermal stability, etc, making them a competitive candidate as building blocks to help achieve the above goal. In this work, a kind of CNT network was prepared by using chlorosulfonic acid (CSA) to release the internal stress of super-aligned carbon nanotube films (SA-CNTF) and dendritic polyamide amine (PAMAM) to further introduce multiple hydrogen bonds and interlocking structures. The fabricated bioinspired carbon nanotube network films (PAMAM@C-CNTF) have a high toughness of 45.97 MJ/m³, showing an increase of 420% compared to neat SA-CNTF. More importantly, the anti-impact performance of the films (e.g., with a maximum specific energy absorption of 1.40 MJ/kg under 80–100 m/s projectile impact) is superior to that of conventional protective materials from steel and Kevlar fiber, and also exceeds that of any other reported carbon-based materials. The hierarchical energy dissipation mechanism was further revealed through experiment and simulation. Additional functions including intelligent heating/anti-icing, ultraviolet protection, as well as electromagnetic interference shielding properties make these network films have great potential in practical multi-protection applications, especially under an extreme environment.

The exploration of material failure behavior not only involves defining its limits and underlying mechanisms but also entails devising strategies for improvement and protection in extreme conditions. We've pioneered an advanced multi-scale, high-speed ascending thermal shock testing platform capable of inducing unprecedented heat shocks at rates surpassing 10⁵ °C/s. Through meticulous examination of the thermal shock responses of carbon nanotube (CNT) films, we've achieved remarkable breakthroughs. By employing an innovative macro-scale synchronous tightening and relaxing approach, we've attained a critical temperature differential in CNT films that exceeds an exceptional 2500 °C—surpassing any previously reported metric for high-performance, thermal-shock-resistant materials. Notably, these samples have demonstrated exceptional resilience, retaining virtually unchanged strength even after enduring 10,000 thermal shock cycles at temperatures exceeding 1000 °C. Furthermore, our research has revealed a novel thermal shock/fatigue failure mechanism that fundamentally diverges from conventional theories centered on thermal stress.

The study of material failure is crucial for the design of engineering applications, as it can have significant social and economic impacts. Carbon nanotubes (CNTs), with their exceptional electrical, mechanical, and thermal properties, hold immense potential for a wide range of cutting-edge applications such as superstrong fiber, lightning strike protector, and even space elevator. This review provides an overview of the advancement in understanding the mechanical and electrical failure study of CNTs and their assemblies, serving as a comprehensive reference for utilizing CNTs in various forms. To begin, we emphasize the importance of studying material failure and provide a brief introduction to CNTs. Subsequently, we explore the mechanical and electrical failure characteristics of CNTs and their assemblies, along with notable examples of applications that utilize their failure-resistant properties, such as flywheel energy storage and lightning strike protection. Lastly, we present perspectives associated with analyzing CNT failure and its implications for extreme applications.