Direct Observation of the Mechanical Properties of Single-Walled Carbon Nanotubes and Their Junctions at the Atomic Level

TROIANI; YOSHIDA; CAMACHO; MARQUEZ; RUBIO; ASCENCIO; YACAMAN

NANO LETTERS (PRINT)

AMER CHEMICAL SOC

Lugar: Washington; Año: 2003 p. 751 - 755

1530-6984

Starting from an amorphous C film, single-walled carbon nanotubes were obtained in situ in a high-resolution electron microscope by thecombined effect of irradiation and axial strain. Ductile nanotubes developed either a junction or a linear chain of C atoms before failure. Thesefacts have been put in direct evidence for the first time. Tight-binding calculations indicate that the bonding in the linear chain is of acumulene type.