We present classical molecular dynamics simulations demonstrating that single-wall carbon nanotube (SWNT) bundles collapse under hydrostatic pressure. The collapse pressures obtained as a function of nanotube diameter are in excellent quantitative agreement with new data presented here for small diameter ($d\approx 0.8\mathrm{n}\mathrm{m}$) SWNTs, and the majority of previously published results, although there remain some unreconciled contradictions in the literature. The collapse pressure is found to be independent of the nanotube chirality, and a lower limit on the largest SWNT that remains inflated at atmospheric pressure is established ($d>4.16\mathrm{n}\mathrm{m}$).

• Received 3 December 2002

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.92.095501