EFFECT OF FILLING HE ON THE BUCKLING FORCE OF HOST SINGLE-WALLED CARBON NANOTUBE

Abstract

The effect of filling He atoms on the compression properties of hosting (10, 10) single-walled carbon nanotube (SWCNT) was investigated by using molecular dynamics (MD) simulation. The results show that at a given temperature, a critical density exists for the filling He , above which the interactions between the He atoms and the tube wall mainly represent repulsive Van der Waals (VdW) force, and consequently, the increase of filling He density will result in the enhancement of the buckling strength. Below that critical density, weak attractive force will dominate the interactions between He atoms and the tube wall of SWCNT, and the filling of He has found no contribution to the buckling strength. This simulation also shows that the critical density of filling He is dependent on the temperature. With increasing temperature, the critical density was found to be decreased.