In this thesis, we showed a study about the post-buckling deformation of the single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWNTs). Through using the nanomanipulator, we attached the SWNT bundle between a flexible atomic force microscopy and a rigid manipulator probe as a clamped-hinged structure. By using the in-situ SEM, we recorded the buckled nanotube beam shape and the deflection of the AFM cantilever to characterize the deformation curvature of the beam and corresponding applied load and perform tensile tests on the same SWNT bundle to determine its Young's modulus. We compared the result with theoretical predictions based on a nonlinear elastica model and the result showed that both the bundled SWNTs' post-buckling deformation curvature and the corresponding applied loads are in reasonably good agreements. This thesis will be useful to the understanding of the structural deformation of one-dimensional nanostructures in the large displacement regime, and to the pursuit of their structural applications.
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