Investigating Bond Rupture in Resonantly Bonded Solids by Field Evaporation of Carbon Nanotubes

Carbon nanotubes, which possess an atomic arrangement that closely resembles graphene, form a class of nanomaterials with an exceptional application portfolio including electronics, batteries, sensors, etc. Both carbon nanotubes and graphene have exceptional mechanical and electronic properties. These exceptional properties of graphene are attributed to the combined effect of σ and π bonds which form upon sp² hybridization, resulting in what is known as resonant bonding. Here, we use atom probe tomography (APT, a technique based on controlled desorption of atoms under high electric field) to observe its bond-rupture characteristics. Results show that the bond rupture of carbon nanotubes, which are resonantly bonded, is similar to that observed for covalently bonded systems. However, a significant difference is observed when compared with those solids which are metavalently bonded. This clearly justifies that resonant bonding, a sub-branch of covalent bonding, is very different from "metavalent" bonding.