title: Thin boron nitride nanotubes with exceptionally high strength and toughness.
abstract: Bending manipulation and direct force measurements of ultrathin boron nitride nanotubes (BNNTs) were performed inside a transmission electron microscope. Our results demonstrate an obvious transition in mechanics of BNNTs when the external diameters of nanotubes are in the range of 10 nm or less. During in situ transmission electron microscopy bending tests, characteristic "hollow" ripple-like structures formed in the bent ultrathin BNNTs with diameters of sub-10 nm. This peculiar buckling/bending mode makes the ultrathin BNNTs hold very high post-buckling loads which significantly exceed their initial buckling forces. Exceptional compressive/bending strength as high as ∼1210 MPa was observed. Moreover, the analysis of reversible bending force curves of such ultrathin nanotubes indicates that they may store/adsorb strain energy at a density of ~400 × 10(6) J m(-3). Such nanotubes are thus very promising for strengthening and toughening of structural ceramics and may find potential applications as effective energy-absorbing materials like armor.
authors.affiliation: International Center for Materials Nanoarchitectonics (MANA), National Institute for Materials Science (NIMS), Namiki 1-1, Tsukuba, Ibaraki 305-0044, Japan. y.huang4@uq.edu.au
authors.forename: Yang
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Huang
authors.forename: Jing
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Lin
authors.forename: Jin
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Zou
authors.forename: Ming-Sheng
authors.initials: MS
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Konstantin
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Faerstein
authors.forename: Chengchun
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Tang
authors.forename: Yoshio
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Bando
authors.forename: Dmitri
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Golberg