Conditions have been discovered that allow extensive deformation of rigid single-walled nanotubes.
Abstract
The theoretical maximum tensile strain — that is, elongation — of a single-walled carbon nanotube is almost 20%1,2, but in practice only 6%3,4 is achieved. Here we show that, at high temperatures, individual single-walled carbon nanotubes can undergo superplastic deformation, becoming nearly 280% longer and 15 times narrower before breaking. This superplastic deformation is the result of the nucleation and motion of kinks in the structure, and could prove useful in helping to strengthen and toughen ceramics and other nanocomposites at high temperatures.
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Supplementary information
Supplementary movie
An in situ HRTEM movie shows a kink that is emitted from the upper junction between the double-walled carbon nanotube segment and the multiwalled carbon nanotube, propagates along the nanotube, and finally disappears at the lower junction. The bias is 2.4 V and the current is 155 µA during the kink motion. The images are acquired with a rate of 3 frames/s and are displayed with 2x2 speed. The image size is 86x86 nm2. (MOV 4115 kb)
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Huang, J., Chen, S., Wang, Z. et al. Superplastic carbon nanotubes. Nature 439, 281 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1038/439281a
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/439281a
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