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Mechanical Properties of Carbon Nanotubes Inferred from TEM

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 July 2020

M. M. J. Treacy  and
T.W. Ebbesen
M. M. J. Treacy
Affiliation:
NEC Research Institute, Inc., 4 Independence Way, Princeton, NJ08540
T.W. Ebbesen
Affiliation:
NEC Research Institute, Inc., 4 Independence Way, Princeton, NJ08540 lSIS, Louis Pasteur University, 67000, Strasbourg, France
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Extract

The discovery of carbon nanotubes by Iijima has stimulated considerable research into their structural, chemical, electrical and mechanical properties. Apart from their intrinsic beauty as macromolecules, and their possibilities as one-dimensional conductors, researchers are stimulated by the notion that a structurally perfect nanotube may be one of the strongest known materials.

It is known that when nanotubes are bent through large angles, regions of high curvature buckle to develop crimps, similar to those observed when metal pipes are bent too much. Figure la shows a multi-walled nanotube that has one end embedded in a ceramic matrix. The other end is snagged so that the tube is bent. Several crimps are visible on the nanotube. Figure lb shows the same nanotube imaged a few moments later. Remarkably, the nanotube has sprung straight and the crimps have disappeared. This demonstrates that buckling in nanotubes does not involve plastic deformation, and that nanotubes can maintain their structural integrity even after severe deformation.

Type
Nanocrystals and Nanocomposites: Novel Structures For Catalysis, Electronics, and Micromechanics
Information
Microscopy and Microanalysis , Volume 3 , Issue S2: Proceedings: Microscopy & Microanalysis '97, Microscopy Society of America 55th Annual Meeting, Microbeam Analysis Society 31st Annual Meeting, Histochemical Society 48th Annual Meeting, Cleveland, Ohio, August 10-14, 1997 , August 1997 , pp. 393 - 394
Copyright
Copyright © Microscopy Society of America 1997

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References

Iijima, S., Nature 354 (1991) 56–58.10.1038/354056a0CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Treacy, M. M. J., Ebbesen, T. W. and Gibson, J. M., Nature 381 (1996) 678–680.10.1038/381678a0CrossRefGoogle Scholar