Effect of high temperature and the presence of stone-wales defects on the mechanical behavior of a single wall carbon nanotube under tension and compression.

On the basis of molecular dynamics simulation, a zigzag (7, 0) SWCNT is examined under axial tension and compression to observe its mechanical behavior and fracture pattern in the absence and presence of Stone-Wales (SW) defects coupled with the variation of temperature. A defect-free tube is subjected to tensile or compressive stresses at different temperatures. Then SW defects are introduced into it and stress is applied with the increase of temperature. The defective and defect-free tubes show different fracture patterns with increasing temperature showing significant changes in their mechanical properties. Compression of the tube also reveals interesting changes in its buckling behavior with variation of temperature and inclusion of defects.