Suspended monolayer graphene traps high-speed single-walled carbon nanotube

Suspended graphene sheet (GS) is generally considered to be in-plane strong and out-of-plane soft. By simulating tests of impacting a single-walled carbon nanotube (SWCNT) on a flat or rippled GS, we demonstrate that impact-induced longitudinal and transversal wave fronts travel at speeds ranging from 18 to 20 km/s and 3.0 to 3.4 km/s in graphene, and absorb the 89–100% of the SWCNT’s kinetic energy – a promising capability of trapping high-speed nanoparticles or air molecules. The kinetic energy of the longitudinal wave makes up around 50% of the SWCNT’s kinetic energy lost. A beneficial role of such ripples is demonstrated in absorbing a projectile’s kinetic energy, owing to the snap through of ripples. Moreover, we calculate the thresholds of projectile’s incident kinetic energy that leads to the breaking of a monolayer GS. A wearable-device of suspended GS with boundaries fixed on a frame is proposed to protect the eardrum from a shock wave in sound.