Kink formation and motion in carbon nanotubes at high temperatures.
We report that kink motion is a universal plastic deformation mode in all carbon nanotubes when being tensile loaded at high temperatures. The kink motion, observed inside a high-resolution transmission electron microscope, is reminiscent of dislocation motion in crystalline materials: namely, it dissociates and multiplies. The kinks are nucleated from vacancy creation and aggregation, and propagate in either a longitudinal or a spiral path along the nanotube walls. The kink motion is related to dislocation glide and climb influenced by external stress and high temperatures in carbon nanotubes.
Huang
J Y
JY
Department of Physics, Boston College, Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts 02467, USA.
Chen
S
S
Ren
Z F
ZF
Wang
Z Q
ZQ
Wang
D Z
DZ
Vaziri
M
M
Suo
Z
Z
Chen
G
G
Dresselhaus
M S
MS