Role of lattice registry in the full collapse and twist formation of carbon nanotubes [22]

The effect of interlayer lattice registry on the formation of fully collapsed single wall carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) was studied via atomistic simulation. It was found that a fully collapsed SWCNT could adopt various structural morphologies, such as a straight ribbon, a warping ribbon, or even a twisted ribbon. Such structural formations depended on the degree of commensurance between the lattice structures of the adhering layers in a collapsed SWCNT, thus the chirality of the SWCNT. The modeling result was further corroborated with a simple analysis of the system energy difference among graphitic double layer structures with different interlayer lattice registry, and with the experimental observation of freestanding, twisted, and collapsed nanotubes.