Temperature-dependent elastic properties of single-walled carbon nanotubes: Prediction from molecular dynamics simulation

The authors report here a method of determining the mechanical properties of single-walled carbon nanotubes by direct measurement from molecular dynamics simulation test. The authors find that single-walled carbon nanotubes exhibit obvious anisotropic, temperature-dependent properties. The value of Young’s modulus decreases with increase in temperature, whereas the shear modulus increases when the temperature is less than 700K and remains almost constant when the temperature is greater than 700K. By direct buckling measuring, the authors obtain the effective wall thickness of nanotubes and find that the effective wall thickness of zigzag nanotubes is larger than that of armchair nanotubes.