Whereas boron nitride nanotubes have elastic properties similar to those of their carbon counterparts, they can have a very different response to plastic deformation. $\mathrm{}(n,n)\mathrm{}$ boron nitride nanotubes have comparable plastic limits to those of carbon tubes with similar wrapping angle. $\mathrm{}(n,0\mathrm{})\mathrm{}$ boron nitride nanotubes, however, have much smaller elastic limits against bond rotations. In $\mathrm{}(n,0\mathrm{})\mathrm{}$ tubes, bond rotation defects induced by plastic deformation quickly lead to bond breaking and thereby cause tubes in this range of wrapping angles to be substantially weaker than would be expected from their purely elastic response.

• Received 22 December 1999

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevB.62.11050