Would diamond nanorods be stronger than fullerene nanotubes?

On the basis of literature ab initio data, we show that diamond nanorods would have a brittle fracture force and a zero strain stiffness that exceeds carbon nanotubes for radii greater than about 1-3 nm, depending on the orientation of the diamond nanorod. The energetic stability of diamond nanorods is predicted by molecular modeling to be comparable to single-walled carbon nanotubes. It is concluded that diamond nanorods represent an important and viable target structure for synthesis.