The structural and dynamical aspects of boron nitride nanotubes under high velocity impacts

Author(s)

Machado, Leonardo D. ^{[1, 2]} ; Ozden, Sehmus ^[1] ; Tiwary, ChandraSekhar ^[1] ; Autreto, Pedro A. S. ^[3] ; Vajtai, Robert ^[1] ; Barrera, Enrique V. ^[1] ; Galvao, Douglas S. ^[4] ; Ajayan, Pulickel M. ^[1]

Affiliation

^[1] Rice Univ, Dept Mat Sci & NanoEngn, Houston, TX 77005 - USA

^[2] Univ Fed Rio Grande do Norte, Dept Fis Teor & Expt, BR-59072970 Natal, RN - Brazil

^[3] Univ Fed ABC, BR-09210580 Santo Andre, SP - Brazil

^[4] Univ Estadual Campinas, Dept Appl Phys, BR-13083959 Campinas, SP - Brazil

• Document type: Journal article
• Source: Physical Chemistry Chemical Physics; v. 18, n. 22, p. 14776-14781, JUN 14 2016.
• Web of Science Citations: 7

Abstract

This communication report is a study on the structural and dynamical aspects of boron nitride nanotubes (BNNTs) shot at high velocities (similar to 5 km s(-1)) against solid targets. The experimental results show unzipping of BNNTs and the formation of hBN nanoribbons. Fully atomistic reactive molecular dynamics simulations were also carried out to gain insights into the BNNT fracture patterns and deformation mechanisms. Our results show that longitudinal and axial tube fractures occur, but the formation of BN nanoribbons fromfractured tubes was only observed for some impact angles. Although some structural and dynamical features of the impacts are similar to the ones reported for CNTs, because BNNTs are more brittle than CNTs this results in a larger number of fractured tubes but with fewer formed nanoribbons. (AU)

• FAPESP's process: 13/08293-7 - CCES - Center for Computational Engineering and Sciences
• Grantee: Munir Salomao Skaf
• Support Opportunities: Research Grants - Research, Innovation and Dissemination Centers - RIDC