Carbon nanotube array based surface acoustic wave gas sensor simulation

Oxygen adsorption effect on the Van der Waals interaction contribution to the elastic moduli of ordered carbon nanotube arrays was estimated. Mechanical instability of square lattice of nanotubes with respect to the transition to triangular one was demonstrated. Variation of the elastic moduli due to the adsorption was shown to be of the same order of magnitude as the moduli themselves. This leads to variation of phase velocities of acoustic waves propagating across the array which proved to be dozens of times greater then mass loading by adsorbate for the acoustic wave frequency range 0,1 - 1,0 GHz.