The buckling of single-walled carbon nanotubes containing one atomic vacancy was studied. An elastic beam theory was developed in order to predict the buckling strain of defective carbon nanotubes, and the strain predicted by a continuum mechanics model was verified by comparison studies involving molecular dynamics simulations. The results demonstrated the effectiveness of continuum mechanics theory for longer carbon nanotubes. A local kink was revealed in the morphology of the buckling of shorter defective carbon nanotubes by using molecular dynamics.

On Instability of Single-Walled Carbon Nanotubes with a Vacancy Defect. Q.Wang, V.K.Varadan, Y.Xiang, Q.K.Han, B.C.Wen: International Journal of Structural Stability and Dynamics, 2008, 8[2], 357-66