An atomic force microscopy (AFM) based technique is demonstrated for measuring the elastic modulus of individual nanowires/nanotubes aligned on a solid substrate without destructing or manipulating the sample. By simultaneously acquiring the topography and lateral force image of the aligned nanowires in the AFM contacting mode, the elastic modulus of the individual nanowires in the image has been derived. The measurement is based on quantifying the lateral force required to induce the maximal deflection of the nanowire where the AFM tip was scanning over the surface in contact mode. For the [0001] ZnO nanowires/nanorods grown on a sapphire surface with an average diameter of 45 nm, the elastic modulus is measured to be 29 +/- 8 GPa.
We measured the elastic properties and intrinsic breaking strength of free-standing monolayer graphene membranes by nanoindentation in an atomic force microscope. The force-disp...
We have induced large elastic strains in ropes of single-wall carbon nanotubes, using an atomic force microscope in lateral force mode. Freely suspended ropes were observed to d...
The Young's modulus, strength, and toughness of nanostructures are important to proposed applications ranging from nanocomposites to probe microscopy, yet there is little direct...
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