Mechanical properties of 1D metal oxide nanostructures

Abstract

Knowledge on mechanical properties of metal oxide nanostructures is critical in achieving full potential of downscaling metal oxides into nanometric structures. Novel and adequate experimentations are required to overcome the challenges imposed by the minuscule size of one-dimensional (1D) nanostructures for the characterization of their mechanical properties. Large amount of research efforts in probing and understanding the mechanical behavior of 1D metal oxide nanostructures has been devoted in the past decade. These studies revealed interesting mechanical responses of 1D metal oxide nanostructures including the size dependent elastic constants, large elastic deformation capability, and predominant effect of external stresses on its properties. This article reviews the progress in thestudy of the mechanical properties of 1D metal oxide nanostructures. Experimental challenges and difficulties in interpreting the evaluated mechanical responses of 1D metal oxidenanostructures are highlighted. Recent reports on the mechanical stress induced tunable properties of 1D metal oxide nanostructures are also discussed. © 2010 American Scientific Publishers.