2000/01/28 by Min-Feng Yu, O. Lourie, Mark J. Dyer +3 · 16 citations
Materials Science · Engineering · #Carbon Nanotubes in Composites #Nanotechnology research and applications #Ion-surface interactions and analysis
paper · doi:10.1126/science.287.5453.637
openalex publication_date 2000/01/28 · openalex created_date 2016/06/24 · openalex updated_date 2026/08/03
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.