REVERSIBLE BENDING OF CARBON NANOTUBES USING A TRANSMISSION ELECTRON-MICROSCOPE

Multiwall carbon nanotubes can be bent by changing the current density of the electron beam in a transmission electron microscope. The effec t could be observed in a small fraction of nanotubes in the investigat ed samples. The bending can be varied continuously, is reversible, and highly reproducible. On removing the force which makes them bend, the y relax to their originally straight shape without any damage, thus ex hibiting spring-like behavior. Possible mechanisms for this effect are discussed. (C) 1998 American Institute of Physics. [S0003-6951(98)024 40-1].