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Science 28 January 2000:
Vol. 287. no. 5453, pp. 637 - 640
DOI: 10.1126/science.287.5453.637
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Reports

Strength and Breaking Mechanism of Multiwalled Carbon Nanotubes Under Tensile Load

Min-Feng Yu, 1 Oleg Lourie, 1 Mark J. Dyer, 2 Katerina Moloni, 3 Thomas F. Kelly, 3 Rodney S. Ruoff 1*

The tensile strengths of individual multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) were measured with a "nanostressing stage" located within a scanning electron microscope. The tensile-loading experiment was prepared and observed entirely within the microscope and was recorded on video. The MWCNTs broke in the outermost layer ("sword-in-sheath" failure), and the tensile strength of this layer ranged from 11 to 63 gigapascals for the set of 19 MWCNTs that were loaded. Analysis of the stress-strain curves for individual MWCNTs indicated that the Young's modulus E of the outermost layer varied from 270 to 950 gigapascals. Transmission electron microscopic examination of the broken nanotube fragments revealed a variety of structures, such as a nanotube ribbon, a wave pattern, and partial radial collapse.

1 Department of Physics, Washington University in St. Louis, CB 1105, St. Louis, MO 63130, USA.
2 Zyvex LLC, Suite 200, 1321 North Plano Road, Richardson, TX 75081, USA.
3 Department of Materials Science and Engineering, University of Wisconsin, 1509 University Avenue, Madison, WI 53706, USA.
*   To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: ruoff{at}wuphys.wustl.edu

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