Geometric Effects on the Inelastic Deformation of Metal Nanowires

C. Ji and H. S. Park, Applied Physics Lett 89, 181916 (2006).

This letter addresses the direct effect that geometry has in controlling the mechanisms of inelastic deformation in metal nanowires. By performing atomistic simulations of the tensile deformation of <100>100 hollow copper nanowires (nanoboxes), we find that the nanoboxes deform in an unexpected twinning-dominated mode; the non-square wall geometries of the nanoboxes biases the deformation by allowing the larger transverse 100 surfaces to reduce their area through twinning by reorienting to a lower energy 111 surface. Additional analyses on solid nanowires with non- square cross sections confirm that geometry can be utilized to engineer the mechanical behavior and properties of nanomaterials.

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