The role of carbon allotropes on the radiation resistance of Cu-based nanocomposites: An atomistic, energetic, and thermodynamic perspective

•It has been expected that Cu-carbon allotrope nanocomposites have excellent neutron irradiation resistance.•Graphdiyne isn’t a stable plane during collision cascades and can greatly affect the radiation resistance of Cu-Graphdiyne nanocomposite.•Cu-Graphene and Cu-Graphane nanocomposites have a low barrier for the interstitial emission mechanism to annihilate the vacancies near the interface.•High radiation resistance of Cu-Graphane nanocomposite implies that this carbon allotrope is appropriate to suggest as the two-dimensional polymer of hydrogen and carbon to design structures with high radiation resistance.