Mechanical Energy Storage in Carbon Nanotube Springs

S. A. Chesnokov; V. A. Nalimova; A. G. Rinzler; R. E. Smalley; J. E. Fischer

doi:10.1103/PhysRevLett.82.343

Mechanical Energy Storage in Carbon Nanotube Springs

S. A. Chesnokov, V. A. Nalimova, A. G. Rinzler, R. E. Smalley, and J. E. Fischer

Phys. Rev. Lett. 82, 343 – Published 11 January 1999

Abstract

Compression of purified, unoriented, highly crystalline single-wall carbon nanotube material reveals an exceptionally large and reversible volume reduction. Density increases rapidly with increasing pressure, approaching that of graphite, and recovers completely upon pressure release. The reversible work done in compressing to 29 kbar is $0.18 eV / C$ atom. We attribute this effect to crushing, or flattening the tube cross section from circular to elliptical.

Received 8 December 1997

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.82.343

Authors & Affiliations

S. A. Chesnokov and V. A. Nalimova^*

Department of Chemistry and Physics of High Pressures, Moscow State University, Moscow 119899, Russia

A. G. Rinzler and R. E. Smalley

Center for Nanoscale Science and Technology, Rice Quantum Institute and Departments of Chemistry and Physics, Rice University, Houston, Texas 77251

J. E. Fischer

Department of Materials Science and Engineering and Laboratory for Research on the Structure of Matter, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19104