Elastic properties of noncarbon nanotubes as compared to carbon nanotubes

A comparative study of stability, structural, and elastic properties of single-wall noncarbon nanotubes, including BN, AlN, GaN, AlP, GaP, and B nanotubes using ab initio simulation is presented. The proposed nanotubes can be found in nature, which is confirmed by calculation of their binding energy. The values of Young's modulus and Poisson's ratio for (0,$n$) and ($n,n$) proposed nanotubes with $n=3\ensuremath{\cdots}20$ are obtained. The conception of two-dimensional (2D) Young's modulus of planar and tubular materials was developed. The calculations show that stable forms of boron nitride nanotubes have the 2D Young's modulus almost similar to carbon nanotubes. At the same time, it is stated that boron nanotubes have a higher 2D Young's modulus than any other known carbon and noncarbon nanostructures.