Nanotube/matrix interfacial friction and sliding in composites with an amorphous carbon matrix

Interfacial friction and sliding of single- and multi-walled carbon nanotubes embedded in an amorphous carbon matrix were studied via molecular dynamics simulations. Multi-walled carbon nanotubes with 16% interwall sp3 bonding have friction stresses three times larger than single-walled nanotubes or perfect multi-walled nanotubes for the same nominal conditions. With increasing sp3 bond fraction, the interfacial friction strength increases to 20–120 MPa, which is comparable to the strength of a number of tough micron-scale ceramic matrix composite systems.