2024-12-2920241744-683X10.1039/d3sm01030a2-s2.0-85182173970https://doi.org/10.1039/d3sm01030ahttps://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14288/23118We present a comprehensive numerical study of the phase behavior and dynamics of a three-dimensional active dumbbell system with attractive interactions. We demonstrate that attraction is essential for the system to exhibit nontrivial phases. We construct a detailed phase diagram by exploring the effects of the system's activity, density, and attraction strength. We identify several distinct phases, including a disordered, a gel, and a completely phase-separated phase. Additionally, we discover a novel dynamical phase, that we name percolating network, which is characterized by the presence of a spanning network of connected dumbbells. In the phase-separated phase we characterize numerically and describe analytically the helical motion of the dense cluster.Active matterLiquid crystalMolecular dynamicsJournal article1744-68481142164200001Q241257