Special Issue Article
Superelasticity of Carbon Nanocoils from Atomistic Quantum Simulations
1 Laboratory of Materials Modification by Laser, Electron, and Ion Beams, and College of Advanced Science and Technology, Dalian University of Technology, 116024, Dalian, China
2 Jiangsu Key Laboratory for Chemistry of Low-Dimensional Materials, Huaiyin Normal University, 223300, Huaian, China
3 Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, 27599, USA
Nanoscale Research Letters 2010, 5:478-483 doi:10.1007/s11671-010-9545-x
Published: 6 February 2010Abstract
A structural model of carbon nanocoils (CNCs) on the basis of carbon nanotubes (CNTs) was proposed. The Young’s moduli and spring constants of CNCs were computed and compared with those of CNTs. Upon elongation and compression, CNCs exhibit superelastic properties that are manifested by the nearly invariant average bond lengths and the large maximum elastic strain limit. Analysis of bond angle distributions shows that the three-dimensional spiral structures of CNCs mainly account for their unique superelasticity.
