Growth of Single‐Walled Carbon Nanotubes from Sharp Metal Tips |
| |
| Authors: | Julio A. Rodríguez‐Manzo Izabela Janowska Cuong Pham‐Huu Antti Tolvanen Arkady V. Krasheninnikov Kai Nordlund Florian Banhart |
| |
| Affiliation: | 1. Institut de Physique et Chimie des Matériaux, UMR 7504 Université de Strasbourg 23 rue du Loess, 67034 Strasbourg (France);2. Laboratoire des Matériaux Surfaces et procédés pour la Catalyse UMR 7515 CNRS European Laboratory for Catalysis and Surface Sciences ELCASS, 25 rue Becquerel, 67087 Strasbourg (France);3. Materials Physics Division University of Helsinki P.O. Box 43, 00014 Helsinki (Finland);4. Laboratory of Physics Helsinki University of Technology P.O. Box 1100, 02015 Helsinki (Finland) |
| |
| Abstract: | The nucleation and growth of single‐walled carbon nanotubes is observed in situ in a transmission electron microscope. Carbon atoms are implanted into catalytically active metal particles by electron‐beam sputtering. The metal particles are then shaped with a focused electron beam. Once the particles have a region of high surface curvature, spontaneous nucleation and growth of single‐walled carbon nanotubes occurs on the metal particles. It is shown that the local solubility of carbon in the metal determines the nucleation of nanotubes. This is confirmed by atomistic computer simulations treating the solubility of carbon in a metal particle as a function of the size of the system. |
| |
| Keywords: | carbon solubility electron microscopy metal nanoparticles nanotube growth single‐walled carbon nanotubes |
|
