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Effect of Diameter, Length, and Chirality on the Properties of Silicon Nanotubes

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Abstract

The mechanical properties of nanostructures are a researcher’s favorite topics. In the meantime, the mechanical and physical properties of the two dimensional structures and the nanotubes have attracted greater attention due to their wide application. Si (Si) nanotubes are structures consisting of Si atoms that are arranged as honeycombs. This structure has created some special properties in Si nanotubes. In this paper, Young’s modulus values and stress strain diagrams of Si nanotubes are investigated using molecular dynamics method and the Tersoff potential. Then, the changes effect of size and dimension was investigated for a closer look. For this purpose, the effect of nanotube diameter, length, and chirality shift from zigzag to armchair were studied. The results showed that the fracture stress of nanotube decreased with increasing the length of Si nanotube. It was also shown that the armchair structure was stronger than the zigzag. The effect of diameter change on the mechanical properties was also investigated and it was observed that no specific order could be found between the diameter changes with the Si nanotube strength. The results were in good agreement with other studies.

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Data Availability

The datasets generated and/or analyzed during the current study are not publicly available but are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request

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The LAMMPS package is free and open-source software.

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This research was financially supported by a research grant from the University of Shahreza.

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  1. Department of Mechanical Engineering, Shahreza Campus, University of Isfahan, Isfahan, Iran

    Mohsen Motamedi & Erphan Safdari

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  1. Mohsen Motamedi
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  2. Erphan Safdari
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Both authors contributed to the design and implementation of the research, to the analysis of the results and to the writing of the manuscript.

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Correspondence to Mohsen Motamedi.

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Motamedi, M., Safdari, E. Effect of Diameter, Length, and Chirality on the Properties of Silicon Nanotubes. Silicon 14, 5527–5534 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12633-021-01332-9

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