Carbon Nanotubes under Bending Strain

Bending induced deformations in single walled carbon nanotubes with zigzag and armchair chirality have been studied computationally using a classical molecular dynamics simulation method. In this the interatomic forces have been described with Brenner’s empirical model potential. The results given by this classical model have been assessed by letting the most critical, i.e. the most deformed part, of the nanotube further relax by using a dynamical tight binding simulation method. We find that the empirical potential based approach and the tight binding method reproduce similar deformation patterns when the deformation remains relatively small but at higher levels of deformation the results differ significantly. These comparative simulations indicate that graphene interlayer interaction is an important factor in the behavior of deformed nanotubes.