Compressive buckling of carbon nanotubes containing polyethylene molecules

The instability of a carbon nanotube containing a polyethylene molecule subjected to compression is investigated using molecular dynamics. A decrease up to 35% in the buckling strain of the (6,6) and (10,10) carbon nanotube/polymer structures due to the attractive van der Waals interaction between the tube wall and the polymer molecule is reported. In particular, the decrease in the buckling strain of the (6,6) carbon nanotube/polymer structure is attributed to the initiation of two flattenings on the tube wall. Simulations show that the buckling strain of the structure is insensitive to the number of units of the polymer molecule.