Compressing deformation investigation of single-walled carbon nanotube coated with Ni

Mechanical behaviors of single-walled carbon nanotube (SWCNT) and Ni-coated single-walled carbon nanotube (SWCNT-Ni) were investigated by using molecular dynamics (MD) simulation method. From these results of molecular dynamics simulation for two models of SWCNT and SWCNT-Ni, it was found that the Young´s Modulus of SWCNT was higher than that of SWCNT-Ni, and failure stress and failure strain of SWCNT were also lower than that of SWCNT-Ni at same temperature point of 300K, 500K, and 700K. In order to understand compressing behaviors of different temperature, two different molecular models of SWCNT and SWCNT-Ni were analyzed at 300K, 500K and 700K respectively, and it was revealed that temperature fluctuation could also change the Young´s Modulus, critical stress, and critical strain. In this work, it was very clear that nickel atoms on surface of SWCNT-Ni could retard local buckling at the processing of compressing. Coating nickel atoms on surface of SWCNT could improve some mechanical properties of SWCNT.