The effect of water molecules on elastic and piezoelectric properties of diphenylalanine microtubes

The variation of elastic and electromechanical properties of microtubes of diphenylalanine dipeptide as a function of the degree of filing of nanochannels by water molecules is reported in this paper. Quantum chemical calculations reveal different contributions of water layers in the microtubes to Young's modulus and the effective piezoelectric coefficient. The application of diphenylalanine microtubes in micro-electromechanical systems is also discussed.