Buckling instability of carbon nanoscrolls

Formed by rolling up a monolayer graphene into a spiral structure, a carbon nanoscroll (CNS) is topologically open and has two free edges along its axial direction, distinct from a multi-walled carbon nanotube (MWCNT). Through systematic molecular mechanics simulations, we show that the unique structure of a CNS produces distinct features of its buckling instability under axial compression, twisting, and bending from those of a MWCNT. The results should be instrumental in future structural design of CNS-based applications. As an example, we demonstrate molecular mass transport through a CNS enabled by its torsional buckling instability. The understanding of reversible buckling instability of CNSs could potentially enable the design of novel nano-devices.