A Theoretical Study on the Strain Energy of Carbon Nanobelts.

A theoretical study on the strain energy of carbon nanobelts, i.e. the belt-shaped molecules representing the sidewall structures of carbon nanotubes, is reported. The strain energy of carbon nanobelts with chiral indices (n,n), (n,0), and (n,m) was determined without considering hypothetical homodesmotic reactions. The calculated difference between the strain energy of carbon nanobelts and their possible precursors is expected to be of great utility for future synthetic purposes.