Revisiting behaviour of monometallic catalysts in chemical vapour deposition synthesis of single-walled carbon nanotubes.

ABSTRACT: A catalyst is essential for the controlled synthesis of single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWNTs) by chemical vapour deposition (CVD). However, it is difficult to observe these nanosized particles in their original forms and in a statistical manner, which has resulted in a vague understanding of the behaviours of these particles. We present a technique to solve this long-standing issue. The key is to have an MEMS fabricated suspended SiO₂ layer, which is thick enough to support catalyst deposition and nanotube growth but thin enough to allow electron beams to transit. On a 20 nm SiO₂ film, we confirm that catalyst can be observed at an atomic resolution, and the catalyst-SWNT junctions can also be routinely observed. As a demonstration of this technique, we revisited the

SUBMITTER: Xiang R 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6124116 | biostudies-literature | 2018 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature