Compressibility of periodically twinned silicon carbide nanowires was studied using in situ high pressure X-ray diffraction. Twinned SiC nanowires displayed a bulk modulus of 316GPa, some 20 to 40% higher than previously reported values for SiC of other morphologies. This finding provided direct evidence of a significant effect of twinned structures on the elastic properties of SiC on the nano scale and supported previous molecular dynamics simulations of twin boundary/stacking fault-induced strengthening. Both experiments and simulations indicated that nanoscale twinning was an effective pathway by which to tailor the mechanical properties of nanostructures.

Nanoscale Twinning-Induced Elastic Strengthening in Silicon Carbide Nanowires. Z.J.Lin, L.Wang, J.Zhang, X.Y.Guo, W.Yang, H.K.Mao, Y.Zhao: Scripta Materialia, 2010, 63[10], 981-4