Fivefold enhancement of yield and toughness of copper nanowires via coating carbon nanotubes

Carbon nanotubes are outstanding reinforcements owing to their unparallel strength, while their effects on the copper nanowire are still not fully understood, hampering their broad applications. Herein, we have investigated the tensile behaviors of the nanocomposite-wire of carbon nanotube-copper using molecular dynamic simulations. For the nanocomposite, both the coated and embedded carbon nanotubes increase the Young's modulus, fracture stress and toughness of the copper nanowire. A reinforcement of over fivefold in both yield strength (5.3 times) and toughness (5.1 times) has been achieved when the carbon nanotubes are coated on the copper nanowires, as well as 1.7 times in the Young's modulus. Higher temperatures and lower loading rates reduce the reinforcement.