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Fluid-like Surface Layer and Its Flow Characteristics in Glassy Nanotubes
Matthew C Wingert1, Soonshin Kwon1, Shengqiang Cai1
1Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, University of California, San Diego , La Jolla, California 92093, United States.
Nano Letters
|November 5, 2016
Summary
Amorphous silica nanotubes exhibit unique room-temperature flow under extreme stress, behaving like a fluid surface layer. This nanoscale creep behavior is absent in crystalline silicon nanotubes.
Area of Science:
- Materials Science
- Nanotechnology
- Solid State Physics
Background:
- Nanomaterials exhibit unique properties compared to their bulk counterparts.
- Understanding the mechanical behavior of silicon-based nanotubes is crucial for advanced applications.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the mechanical behavior of amorphous and crystalline silicon nanotubes at the nanoscale.
- To identify unique flow characteristics in amorphous silica nanotubes.
Main Methods:
- Experimental observation of nanotube behavior under Giga-Pascal stress.
- Development of a core-shell model to analyze surface layer properties.
Main Results:
- Amorphous silica and silicon nanotubes demonstrate flow at room temperature under Giga-Pascal stress.
- A ~1 nm thick viscoelastic surface layer with high-temperature glass viscosity was identified in amorphous nanotubes.
- Crystalline silicon nanotubes of similar dimensions did not exhibit this creep behavior.
Conclusions:
- Amorphous silica nanotubes possess a unique fluid-like surface layer enabling nanoscale creep.
- This finding challenges conventional understanding of nanotube mechanical properties.
- The discovered phenomenon opens new avenues for designing and utilizing nanomaterials.
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