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Updated: Jun 25, 2026

Precision Milling of Carbon Nanotube Forests Using Low Pressure Scanning Electron Microscopy
Published on: February 5, 2017
Universal response of single-wall carbon nanotubes to radial compression
A P M Barboza1, H Chacham, B R A Neves
1Departamento de Física, ICEX, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, CP 702, 30123-970, Belo Horizonte, MG, Brazil.
Abstract:
The mechanical response of single-wall carbon nanotubes to radial compression is investigated via atomic force microscopy (AFM). We find that the force F applied by an AFM tip (with radius R) onto a nanotube (with diameter d), rescaled through the quantity Fd;{3/2}(2R);{-1/2}, falls into a universal curve as a function of the compressive strain. Such universality is reproduced analytically in a model where the graphene bending modulus is the only fitting parameter. The application of this model to the radial Young's modulus E_{r} leads to a further universal-type behavior which explains the large variations of nanotube E_{r} reported in the literature.
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