Web Release Date: November 20,
Variation of Radial Elasticity in Multiwalled Carbon Nanotubes
and
College of Nanoscale Science and Engineering, University at Albany, Albany, New York 12203, and Rensselaer Nanotechnology Center, Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy, New York 12180
Received August 10, 2007
Revised October 31, 2007
Abstract:
Correlations between the local diameter and local radial elastic modulus in multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWNTs) were investigated via ultrasonic force microscopy. Spatial cross-correlation analysis showed that local radial modulus variations were inversely correlated with local diameter gradients ("bamboo" structures) in MWNTs grown via chemical vapor deposition (CVD). In contrast, uniform MWNTs grown via arc discharge exhibited no such correlation, indicating that reductions of elastic modulus previously reported for CVD-grown MWNTs originated from increased defect density associated with local increases in diameter.
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