Brittle ductile transition in carbon nanotube bundles

CF Cornwell and CR Welch, MOLECULAR SIMULATION, 38, 1032-1037 (2012).

DOI: 10.1080/08927022.2012.685940

The superior strength and stiffness of carbon nanotubes (CNTs) make them attractive for many structural applications. Although the strength and stiffness of CNTs are extremely high, fibres of aligned CNTs have been found to date to be far weaker than the constituent CNTs. The intermolecular interactions between the CNTs in the fibres are governed by weak van der Waals forces, resulting in slippage between CNTs which occurs at tensions well below the breaking strength of the CNTs. Both theoretical and experimental studies show that by introducing chemical bonds between the CNTs increases load transfer and prevents the CNTs from slipping.

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