title: Nanotube Electromechanics beyond Carbon: The Case of WS2.
abstract: The incorporation of nanostructures into nanoelectronic and nanoelectromechanical systems is a long sought-after goal. In the present article, we report the first torsional electromechanical measurements of pure inorganic nanotubes. The WS2 nanotubes exhibited a complex and reproducible electrical response to mechanical deformation. We combined these measurements with density-functional-tight-binding calculations to understand the interplay between mechanical deformation, specifically torsion and tension, and electrical properties of WS2 nanotubes. This yielded the understanding that the electrical response to mechanical deformation may span several orders of magnitude on one hand and detect several modes of mechanical deformation simultaneously on the other. These results demonstrate that inorganic nanotubes could thus be attractive building blocks for nanoelectromechanical systems such as highly sensitive nanometric motion sensors.
authors.affiliation: Department of Materials and Interfaces, Weizmann Institute of Science , Rehovot 76100, Israel.
authors.forename: Roi
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Levi
authors.affiliation: Department of Materials and Interfaces, Weizmann Institute of Science , Rehovot 76100, Israel.
authors.forename: Jonathan
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Garel
authors.affiliation: Theoretische Chemie, Technische Universität Dresden , Dresden D-01062, Germany.
authors.forename: David
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Teich
authors.affiliation: Theoretische Chemie, Technische Universität Dresden , Dresden D-01062, Germany.
authors.forename: Gotthard
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Seifert
authors.affiliation: Department of Materials and Interfaces, Weizmann Institute of Science , Rehovot 76100, Israel.
authors.forename: Reshef
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Tenne
authors.affiliation: Department of Materials and Interfaces, Weizmann Institute of Science , Rehovot 76100, Israel.
authors.forename: Ernesto
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Joselevich
keywords: WS2; density functional calculations; electromechanical; inorganic; nanotubes