Published online by Cambridge University Press: 10 April 2013
The shear deformations of pillared-graphene nanostructures are investigated using molecular dynamics simulation. Slight anisotropy regarding the direction of a shear load is detected. Changing the loading area in graphene and the radius of a single-walled carbon nanotube (SWNT) as a pillar, the deformations near the joints of graphene and a SWNT are examined in detail. It is concluded the anisotropy of the shear deformation of the nanostructure is due to the atomic structures at the joints of graphene and a SWNT as a pillar, and the out-of-plane deformations of graphene near the joints dominantly affect the overall shear deformation of the nanostructure.