Dynamic fatigue studies of ZnO nanowires by in-situ transmission electron microscopy

The fatigue behavior of ceramic ZnO nanowires (NWs) has been investigated under resonance cyclic loading conditions using in-situ transmission electron microscopy (TEM). After mechanical deformation at the resonance frequency at a vibration angle of 5.2 degrees for 35 billion cycles, no failure or any defect generations have been found. We believe that the dislocation-free nature of NWs and the large surface-to-volume ratio contribute to the NWs' ability to undergo deformation without fatigue or fracture, proving their durability and toughness for nanogenerators and nanopiezotronics.