Investigation of the Plastic Deformation and Fracture of Carbon Nanotubes

Abstract

Carbon nanotubes have demonstrated fascinating mechanical properties. The tensile strength as well as plastic deformation and fracture behaviour of carbon nanotubes, probably more important for material applications, are still lacking experimentally. It is too small to be manipulated with conventional tensile test facilities. We have developed a technique with which deformation and fracture behaviour of carbon nanotubes under a tensile load can be examined. High resolution TEM image shows that bonding breakage prefers to initiate at outmost graphene layer where a higher tension tends to build LIP. It is believed that slippage between tile graphene layers is responsible for the strain relaxation and plastic deformation of multi-walled carbon nanotubes.