Current-Induced Plastic Deformation of Double-Walled Carbon Nanotubes

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Abstract
We induced a permanent plastic deformation in an originally straight double-walled nanotube by applying current to an individual nanotube that had been bent elastically under mechanical duress. This method is controllable and allows nanotubes' application as building blocks in nanostructures. Inserting pentagon–heptagon pairs into a nanotube created bending angles of 20–30°. The onset of plastic deformation, as measured using the current circumference-density, is less than 1/20 that of the sublimation. The onset decreases with increasing nanotube diameter. This process is performed using a transmission electron microscope: electron beam energy is not essential for the process but decreases the onset.