Spontaneous self-rolling of aluminum (0 0 1)/(1 1 1) textured bilayer nanofilms into nanotubes and nanocoils

We report molecular dynamics simulation studies demonstrating the feasibility of a design methodology for forming metallic nanotubes and nanocoils via spontaneous self-rolling-up of free-standing, initially planar (0 0 1)/(1 1 1) bilayer nanofilms. Our studies on aluminum reveal that bilayer self-rolling is controlled by both energetic and kinetic processes accompanying the spontaneous structural reorientation of the (0 0 1) oriented top layer to the (1 1 1) orientation of the substrate layer. The radii of the resulting structures are determined by bilayer thickness and temperature.