Strain and friction induced by van der Waals interaction in individual single walled carbon nanotubes

摘要

Axial strain is introduced into individual single wall carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) suspended from a trench-containing Si/SiO_2 substrate by employing the van der Waals interaction between the SWCNT and the substrate. Resonance Raman spectroscopy is used to characterize the strain, and up to 3% axial strain is observed. It is also found that a significant friction between the SWCNT and the substrate, on the order of 10 pNm, governs the localization and propagation of the strain in the SWCNTs sitting on the substrate. This method can be applied to introduce strain into materials sitting on a substrate, such as a graphene sheet.