In Situ Tests of Multiwalled Carbon Nanotubes with Strength Close to Theoretical Predictions

Using MEMS technology and transmission electron microscopy we show experimentally multiwalled carbon nanotubes with a mean fracture strength of larger than 100 GPa, which exceeds the earlier observations by a factor of approximately 3. These results are in excellent agreement with quantum-mechanical estimations. This performance is made possible by omitting chemical treatments from the sample preparation process, thus avoiding the formation of defects. High-resolution imaging is used to directly determine the number of fractured shells and the chirality of the outer shell. Electron irradiation at 200 keV for 10, 100 and 1800 s lead to improvements of the maximum sustainable loads by factors of 2.4, 7.9 and 11.6 compared with non-irradiated samples of similar diameter. This effect is attributed to crosslinking between the shells. This procedure is a cost effective way of customizing the properties of multiwall nanotubes for many applications of interest ranging from nanocomposites to nanodevices.