Continuum Theory for Piezoelectricity in Nanotubes and Nanowires

TL;DR

This paper develops a continuum theoretical model to analyze the piezoelectric response of nanotubes and nanowires, revealing how their polarization depends on aspect ratio and material properties, with applications to BN nanotubes.

Contribution

It introduces a novel continuum theory specifically for piezoelectric nanotubes and nanowires, incorporating aspect ratio and interaction strength parameters.

Findings

Polarization depends on aspect ratio and material interaction ratio.

Model predicts electric potential induced by uniaxial stress.

Application to BN nanotubes demonstrates practical relevance.

Abstract

We develop and solve a continuum theory for the piezoelectric response of one dimensional nanotubes and nanowires, and apply the theory to study electromechanical effects in BN nanotubes. We find that the polarization of a nanotube depends on its aspect ratio, and a dimensionless constant specifying the ratio of the strengths of the elastic and electrostatic interactions. The solutions of the model as these two parameters are varied are discussed. The theory is applied to estimate the electric potential induced along the length of a BN nanotube in response to a uniaxial stress.