Mechanical properties and defect sensitivity of diamond nanothreads.

One of the newest carbon allotropes synthesized are diamond nanothreads. Using molecular dynamics, we determine the stiffness (850 GPa), strength (26.4 nN), extension (14.9%), and bending rigidity (5.35 × 10(-28) N·m(2)). The 1D nature of the nanothread results in a tenacity of 4.1 × 10(7) N·m/kg, exceeding nanotubes and graphene. As the thread consists of repeating Stone-Wales defects, through steered molecular dynamics (SMD), we explore the effect of defect density on the strength, stiffness, and extension of the system.