Structural defects usually reduce the load carrying capacity of materials. Here, we show by molecular dynamics simulations an anomalous vacancy-defect-induced enhancement of interwall load transfer in annealed carbon nanotubes (CNTs). The large increase of load transfer mainly stems from the hybrid sp2-sp3 interwall bonds at the vacancy edges, which are stronger than the sp3 interwall bonds in pristine CNTs. This finding offers insights for better understanding and designing CNT-based high-performance nanocomposites.

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