The movement of a 5|7 defect in the plastic deformations of a carbon nanotube played the role of dislocation glide in the plastic deformations of metals. This work was concerned with the atomic shift mechanism of the 5|7 defect and the energy barrier when the carbon nanotube was subjected to tensile loading. Action-derived molecular dynamics was applied to find the minimum energy path and the energy barrier. It was found that the tensile loads made it easy for the 5|7 defect to glide, and lower the energy barrier. The minimum load level that made a 5|7 defect glide freely with no energy barrier in the presence of an adatom was obtained.

Mobility of a 5|7 Defect in Carbon Nanotubes. Y.Lee, J.Han, I.H.Lee, S.Im: Nanotechnology, 2011, 22[10], 105707