Stone–Wales transformation in boron nitride nanotubes

A hybrid atomistic/continuum model is used to study the Stone–Wales transformation (90° rotation of an atomic bond) in boron nitride nanotubes (BNNTs) subjected to tension. The critical strain for Stone–Wales transformation is 11.47% for (5, 5) armchair and 14.23% for (10, 0) zigzag BNNTs, which agree well with the atomistic simulations. The critical strain depends on the BNNT chirality for small tube radius, but this dependence gradually disappears with the increasing tube radius.