The effect of temperature on the compressive buckling of boron nitride nanotubes

Abstract

Inspired by the stability at high temperature and the high mechanical strength of boron nitride nanotubes (BNNTs), the effect of temperature on the compressive buckling of BNNTs has been investigated in this paper. Molecular dynamics (MD) simulations of BNNTs subjected to high temperatures (up to 3000 K) were performed and their structures were analyzed by studying their optimized structures at different temperatures through the radial distribution function (RDF). Then, the structural stability and compressive resistance properties of these nanotubes were investigated and the critical buckling loads and critical buckling strains of the nanotubes and their susceptibility to high temperatures were determined. The gradual decrease in the sharpness of the peaks of RDF plots of non‐loaded nanotubes implies that at higher temperatures the structure displays greater deviations from that at room temperature. Results of buckling simulations also indicate a general weakening of the nanotubes and lower critical buckling loads and critical buckling strains at increased temperatures. The decrease in the critical buckling load is more significant for the longer nanotube (L ∼ 6 nm) than the shorter one (L ∼ 3 nm). The critical buckling strain experienced a drop of about 35–50% at temperatures higher than 1500 K. A transitional behavior was observed between T = 1000 and 2000 K. Temperature‐dependent axial buckling behavior of boron nitride nanotubes.

Coaxial carbon@boron nitride nanotube arrays with enhanced thermal stability and compressive mechanical properties

“…Recent examples include coating metal oxide nanoparticles onto CNTs, 32,33 infiltrating a polymer into the interspaces of CNTs 20 and introducing other forms of carbon (additional CNT walls or graphene sheets) into arrays. 16,31 On the other hand, as a structural analogue of CNT, 34-36 a boron nitride nanotube (BNNT) has also been proved to possess superior mechanical properties [37][38][39] and excellent oxidation resistance at relatively high temperatures (∼700 to 900 °C). 27 However, the mechanical-related applications for asgrown BNNTs are not yet mature due to the challenges in synthesizing densely packed and high quality BNNT arrays with suitable dimensions.…”

Composition-dependent buckling behaviour of hybrid boron nitride–carbon nanotubes

“…For example, CNTs and BNNTs have different resistance to buckling instability and buckling mode shapes. 14,18,19,21,22,24,25 As a result, the conclusions observed from the individual buckling of CNTs and BNNTs are not applicable for the case of the present hybrid BN-CNT that is a combination of CNTs and BNNTs. This discrepancy has motivated the undertaking of the current study.…”

“…The individual buckling of pristine CNTs and BNNTs has been widely investigated theoretically and experimentally. [14][15][16][17][18][19][20][21][22][23][24][25][26] The obtained results illustrate that CNTs and BNNTs display different buckling characters. For example, CNTs and BNNTs have different resistance to buckling instability and buckling mode shapes.…”

Atomistic modeling of BN nanofillers for mechanical and thermal properties: a review

“…6 whereas no chain formation was observed under compressive loading. Shokuhfar and his team 173 investigated the effect of temperature (up to 3000°K) on the buckling behavior of BNNTs using potential parameters provided by Albe et al 151 It was predicted in their computational model that higher modeling temperatures reduced the value of critical buckling load as well as the critical buckling strain. A similar kind of study on BNNSs was performed by Yuan and Liew.…”