Carbon nanotubes adhesion and nanomechanical behavior from peeling force spectroscopy

Julien Buchoux (1) , Ludovic Bellon (2) , Sophie Marsaudon (3) , Jean-Pierre Aimé (3)

1 LOMA - Laboratoire Ondes et Matière d'Aquitaine
2 Phys-ENS - Laboratoire de Physique de l'ENS Lyon
3 CBMN - Chimie et Biologie des Membranes et des Nanoobjets

Applications based on Single Walled Carbon Nanotube (SWNT) are good example of the great need to continuously develop metrology methods in the field of nanotechnology. Contact and interface properties are key parameters that determine the efficiency of SWNT functionalized nanomaterials and nanodevices. In this work we have taken advantage of a good control of the SWNT growth processes at an atomic force microscope (AFM) tip apex and the use of a low noise (1E-13 m/rtHz) AFM to investigate the mechanical behavior of a SWNT touching a surface. By simultaneously recording static and dynamic properties of SWNT, we show that the contact corresponds to a peeling geometry, and extract quantities such as adhesion energy per unit length, curvature and bending rigidity of the nanotube. A complete picture of the local shape of the SWNT and its mechanical behavior is provided.

Keywords: Thermal noise; carbon nanotube; adhesion; peeling

Domains: Physics [physics]; Condensed Matter [cond-mat]; Other [cond-mat.other]

Julien Buchoux, Ludovic Bellon, Sophie Marsaudon, Jean-Pierre Aimé. Carbon nanotubes adhesion and nanomechanical behavior from peeling force spectroscopy. The European Physical Journal B: Condensed Matter and Complex Systems, 2011, 84 (1), pp.66-77. ⟨10.1140/epjb/e2011-20204-1⟩. ⟨ensl-00547796⟩