In situ Nanomechanical Research on Large-Scale Plastic Deformation of Individual Ultrathin Multi-walled Carbon Nanotube

Carbon nanotubes are a promising candidate for the application of flexible electronics due to the ultrahigh intrinsic conductivity and excellent mechanical flexibility. In the present work,the morphology of the ultrathin (diameter<20 nm) multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) under an axial compression was investigated by using in-situ transmission electron microscopy. Moreover, the overall dynamic deformation processes and the force-displacement (F-D) curves of the MWCNTs were also examined. Interestingly, the MWCNTs almost restored their original morphology after 15 loading-unloading cycles. The deformation and recovery process indicate that the MWCNTs are flexible and exhibit excellent durability against compression. The Young’s modulus of the MWCNTs is estimated with the value of ∽0.655 TPa derived from the F-D curves fitting. Our results suggest that the ultrathin carbon nanotube structures may have great application potentials in flexible devices.