Buckling and Vibration of Carbon Nanotubes Embedded in Polyethylene Polymers

Abstract

The discovery of buckling instability and vibration of polyethylene (PE)/carbon nanotube (CNT) matrices is reported by molecular mechanics simulations. The buckling strains and the resonance frequencies are found to decrease with an increase in the number of polyethylene chains in the polyethylene/carbon nanotube matrices. The van der Waals forces between the polyethylene chains and the carbon nanotube in matrices are investigated to provide physical interpretations on the findings.