Measurements of the critical strain for rippling in carbon nanotubes

We report measurements of the bending stiffness in free standing carbon nanotubes, using atomic force microscopy inside a scanning electron microscope. Two regimes with different bending stiffness were observed, indicative of a rippling deformation at high curvatures. The observed critical strains for rippling were in the order of a few percent and comparable to previous modeling predictions. We have also found indications that the presence of defects can give a higher critical strain value and a concomitant reduction in Youngs modulus