Investigation of the Effect of Bending on the Polymerization of Fullerenes Inside Carbon Nanotubes

Abstract

The process of bending empty carbon nanotubes (10,10) and the tube filled by fullerenes C₆₀ was investigated. The polymerization of fullerenes and the chemical interaction between the fullerenes and the tube wall is observed in the tube filled with fullerenes in the bending of 270 degrees. It was found that the minimum angle of the bending, which is required for the polymerization, is equal to 16 degrees. The inside of the nanotube is transformed into a wave-like. We used two methods: the empirical and the quantum–mechanical methods. The simulation until the polymerization of fullerenes is carried out by the empirical method and the polymerization process are modeled by the tight binding method.

Keywords:

• Polymerization process
• bending
• peapod
• empty nanotubes
• fullerene