Article abstract
Nature Materials 3, 153 - 157 (2004)
Published online: 15 February 2004 | doi:10.1038/nmat1076
Subject Categories: Mechanical properties | Nanoscale materials | Computation, modelling and theory
Reinforcement of single-walled carbon nanotube bundles by intertube bridging
A. Kis1, G. Csányi2, J.-P. Salvetat3, Thien-Nga Lee1, E. Couteau1, A. J. Kulik1, W. Benoit1, J. Brugger4 & L. Forró1
Abstract
During their production, single-walled carbon nanotubes form bundles. Owing to the weak van der Waals interaction that holds them together in the bundle, the tubes can easily slide on each other, resulting in a shear modulus comparable to that of graphite. This low shear modulus is also a major obstacle in the fabrication of macroscopic fibres composed of carbon nanotubes. Here, we have introduced stable links between neighbouring carbon nanotubes within bundles, using moderate electron-beam irradiation inside a transmission electron microscope. Concurrent measurements of the mechanical properties using an atomic force microscope show a 30-fold increase of the bending modulus, due to the formation of stable crosslinks that effectively eliminate sliding between the nanotubes. Crosslinks were modelled using first-principles calculations, showing that interstitial carbon atoms formed during irradiation in addition to carboxyl groups, can independently lead to bridge formation between neighbouring nanotubes.
- Institute of Physics of Complex Matter, Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), CH-1015 Lausanne, Switzerland
- Cavendish Laboratory, University of Cambridge, Cambridge CB3 0HE, UK
- Centre de Rechereche sur la matière devisée (CRMD), Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), F-45071 Orleans, France
- Institute of Microelectronics and Microsystems, EPFL, CH-1015 Lausanne, Switzerland
Correspondence to: L. Forró1 e-mail: laszlo.forro@epfl.ch
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