Heat welding of non-orthogonal X-junction of single-walled carbon nanotubes

Though X-junctions of single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) have been intensively studied, studies concerning non-orthogonal X-junctions are still very rare. In this paper, the heat welding of defect-free non-orthogonal X-junctions with different crossed angles are investigated by molecular dynamics simulations. The difference between the heat welding of non-orthogonal and orthogonal X-junctions is described, and the angle effect on the configuration and stability of the heat welded non-orthogonal X-junctions is discussed. Compared with the orthogonal X-junction, two crossed SWCNTs with a smaller non-orthogonal angle are easier to join by heat welding, and this may be an important reason why the large tubes are difficult to join, whereas large nanotube bundles are easier to observe in experiments.