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On the Unzipping Mechanisms of Carbon Nanotubes: Insights from Reactive Molecular Dynamics Simulations

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  30 July 2012

Ricardo P. dos Santos ,
Pedro A. Autreto ,
Eric Perim ,
Gustavo Brunetto  and
Douglas S. Galvao
Ricardo P. dos Santos
Affiliation:
Physics Department, IGCE, Universidade Estadual Paulista, UNESP, 13506-900, Rio Claro, SP, Brazil.
Pedro A. Autreto
Affiliation:
Applied Physics, State University of Campinas, 13083-970, Campinas, São Paulo, Brazil.
Eric Perim
Affiliation:
Applied Physics, State University of Campinas, 13083-970, Campinas, São Paulo, Brazil.
Gustavo Brunetto
Affiliation:
Applied Physics, State University of Campinas, 13083-970, Campinas, São Paulo, Brazil.
Douglas S. Galvao
Affiliation:
Applied Physics, State University of Campinas, 13083-970, Campinas, São Paulo, Brazil.
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Abstract

Unzipping carbon nanotubes (CNTs) is considered one of the most promising approaches for the controlled and large-scale production of graphene nanoribbons (GNR). These structures are considered of great importance for the development of nanoelectronics because of its dimensions and intrinsic nonzero band gap value. Despite many years of investigations some details on the dynamics of the CNT fracture/unzipping processes remain unclear. In this work we have investigated some of these process through molecular dynamics simulations using reactive force fields (ReaxFF), as implemented in the Large-scale Atomic/Molecular Massively Parallel Simulator (LAMMPS) code. We considered multi-walled CNTs of different dimensions and chiralities and under induced mechanical stretching. Our preliminary results show that the unzipping mechanisms are highly dependent on CNT chirality. Well-defined and distinct fracture patterns were observed for the different chiralities. Armchair CNTs favor the creation of GNRs with well-defined armchair edges, while zigzag and chiral ones produce GNRs with less defined and defective edges.

Keywords

nanostructuresimulationstructural
Type
Articles
Information
MRS Online Proceedings Library (OPL) , Volume 1451: Symposium DD/EE – Nanocarbon Materials and Devices , 2012 , pp. 3 - 8
Copyright
Copyright © Materials Research Society 2012

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