Wall thickness of single-walled carbon nanotubes and its Young's modulus

Abstract

Young's modulus of single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) was calculated by a modern pseudo-potential ab initio method. Using different models for wall thickness, we found that the Young's modulus of an SWCNT varies in a wide range from 0.94 to 5.81 TPa. Here, an SWCNT's wall thickness was obtained by electronic structure calculation. Using the wall thickness, we obtained that the Young's modulus of an SWCNT is 1.06–1.16 TPa, which is in agreement with the experimental result of 1.20–1.25 TPa.