title: Radial mechanical properties of single-walled boron nitride nanotubes.
abstract: The radial mechanical properties of single-walled boron nitride nanotubes (SW-BNNTs) are investigated by atomic force microscopy. Nanomechanical measurements reveal the radial deformation of individual SW-BNNTs in both elastic and plastic regimes. The measured effective radial elastic moduli of SW-BNNTs are found to follow a decreasing trend with an increase in tube diameter, ranging from 40.78 to 1.85 GPa for tube diameters of 0.58 to 2.38 nm. The results show that SW-BNNTs have relatively lower effective radial elastic moduli than single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs). The axially strong, but radially supple characteristics suggest that SW-BNNTs may be superior to SWCNTs as reinforcing additives for nanocomposite applications.
authors.affiliation: Department of Mechanical Engineering, State University of New York at Binghamton, Binghamton, NY 13902, USA.
authors.forename: Meng
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Zheng
authors.forename: Xiaoming
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.forename: In-Tae
authors.initials: IT
authors.lastname: Bae
authors.forename: Changhong
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Ke
authors.forename: Cheol
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Park
authors.forename: Michael W
authors.initials: MW
authors.lastname: Smith
authors.forename: Kevin
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Jordan
mesh_terms: D001896:Boron Compounds / Q000737:chemistry*; D055119:Elastic Modulus; D055595:Mechanical Phenomena; D018625:Microscopy, Atomic Force; D043942:Nanotubes / Q000737:chemistry*
chemical_list: D001896:Boron Compounds; C017282:boron nitride