Mechanical and electrostatic properties of carbon nanotubes and nanowires

Nano-scale manipulation and property measurements of individual nanowire-like structure is challenged by the small size of the structure. Scanning probe microscopy has been the dominant tool for property characterizations of nanomaterials. We have developed an alternative novel approach that allows a direct measurement of the mechanical and electrical properties of individual nanowire-like Ž . structures by in situ transmission electron microscopy TEM . The technique is unique in a way that it can directly correlate the atomic-scale microstructure of the nanowire with its physical properties. This paper reviews our current progress in applying the technique in investigating the mechanical and electron field emission properties of carbon nanotubes and nanowires. q 2001 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.