Search

The Young's modulus of ZnO nanobelts was measured using an atomic force microscope following the modulated nanoindentation method. The nanobelts have a rectangular cross-section, with width-to-thickness ratios ranging 1-10 and lengths up to a few millimetres. The Young's modulus of two nanobelts with width-to-thickness ratio of 2.2 and 1.3 was measured at 55 and 108 GPa, respectively, indicating a size dependence of the elastic properties of the nanobelts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We report on the measurement of the radial modulus of boron nitride nanotubes (BN-NTs) with various sizes and thicknesses. These BN-NTs are radially much stiffer than previously reported thinner and smaller BN-NTs. Here, we show the key role of the morphology of the nanotubes in determining their radial rigidity; in particular, we find that the external and internal radii, Rext and Rint, have a stronger influence on the radial modulus than the nanotube's thickness. The radial modulus decreases nonlinearly with 1/Rext until reaching, for a large number of layers and a large radius, the transverse elastic modulus of bulk h-BN. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]