A reversible strain-induced electrical conductivity in cup-stacked carbon nanotube

Journal Article · Tue Jan 01 00:00:00 EST 2013 · Nanoscale

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1039/c3nr01887c· OSTI ID:1082110

Hayashi, T ^[1]; Morokuma, Keiji ^[2]; Meunier, Vincent ^[2]; Meunier, V. ^[3]; Terrones Maldonado, Mauricio ^[2]; Muramatsu, H ^[1]; Sumpter, Bobby G ^[2]; Kim, Y A ^[1]

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1. Shinshu University
2. ORNL
3. Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI)

We have used in-situ current-voltage measurements of cup-stacked carbon nanotubes (CSCNTs) to establish a reversible strain induced (compressive bending) semiconducting to metallic behavior. The corresponding electrical resistance decreases by two orders of magnitude during the process, and reaches values comparable to those of highly crystalline multi-walled carbon nanotube (MWCNT) and graphite. Joule heating experiments on the same CSCNTs showed that the edges of individual cups merge to form loops induced by the heating process. The resistance of these looped CSCNTs was close to that of highly deformed CSCNTs (and crystalline MWCNTs), thus suggesting that a similar conduction mechanism took place in both cases. Using a combination of molecular dynamics and first-principles calculations based on density functional theory, we conclude that an edge-to-edge interlayer transport mechanism results in conduction channels at the compressed side of the CSCNTs due to electronic density overlap between individual cups, thus making CSCNT more conducting. This strain-induced CSCNT semiconductor to metal transition could potentially be applied to enabling functional composite materials (e.g. mechanical sensors) with enhanced and tunable conducting properties upon compression.

• Research Organization: Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States). Oak Ridge Leadership Computing Facility (OLCF); Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States). Center for Nanophase Materials Sciences (CNMS); Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States). National Center for Computational Sciences (NCCS)
• Sponsoring Organization: USDOE Office of Science (SC)
• DOE Contract Number: DE-AC05-00OR22725
• OSTI ID: 1082110
• Journal Information: Nanoscale, Vol. 5, Issue 21; ISSN 2040-3364
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English