Evidence for Possible Flexoelectricity in Tobacco Mosaic Viruses Used as Nanotemplates

Journal Article · Sun Jan 01 00:00:00 EST 2006 · Applied Physics Letters

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1063/1.2194008· OSTI ID:1001692

Kalinin, Sergei V ^[1]; Jesse, Stephen ^[1]; Liu, W. L. ^[2]; Balandin, A. A. ^[2]

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1. ORNL
2. University of California, Riverside

Electromechanical coupling in individual tobacco mosaic viruses has been studied using piezoresponse force microscopy. Possible origins of the observed high resolution contrast, including the topographic crosstalk, difference in the elastic properties, and the intrinsic electromechanical coupling due to the piezoelectric and flexoelectric effects are discussed. Using simple estimates, we argue that, due in part to the small size and high symmetry of this particular material system, flexoelectric coupling can dominate the observed electromechanical behavior. The electrical manipulation of the virus particles, essential for nanoelectronic applications for which they are proposed, has also been demonstrated.

• Research Organization: Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States)
• Sponsoring Organization: USDOE Laboratory Directed Research and Development (LDRD) Program
• DOE Contract Number: DE-AC05-00OR22725
• OSTI ID: 1001692
• Journal Information: Applied Physics Letters, Vol. 88, Issue 15; ISSN 0003-6951
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS
GENERAL PHYSICS
60 APPLIED LIFE SCIENCES
ELASTICITY
MICROSCOPY
RESOLUTION
SYMMETRY
TOBACCO
VIRUSES