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Investigation of the Interactions and Bonding between Carbon and Group VIII Metals at the Atomic Scale

Zoberbier, Thilo; Chamberlain, Thomas W.; Biskupek, Johannes; Suyetin, Mikhail; Majouga, Alexander G.; Besley, Elena; Kaiser, Ute; Khlobystov, Andrei N.

Authors

Thilo Zoberbier

Thomas W. Chamberlain

Johannes Biskupek

Mikhail Suyetin

Alexander G. Majouga

Ute Kaiser



Abstract

The nature and dynamics of bonding between Fe, Ru, Os, and single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWNTs) is studied by aberration-corrected high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (AC-HRTEM). The metals catalyze a wide variety of different transformations ranging from ejection of carbon atoms from the nanotube sidewall to the formation of hollow carbon shells or metal carbide within the SWNT, depending on the nature of the metal. The electron beam of AC-HRTEM serves the dual purpose of providing energy to the specimen and simultaneously enabling imaging of chemical transformations. Careful control of the electron beam parameters, energy, flux, and dose allowed direct comparison between the metals, demonstrating that their chemical reactions with SWNTs are determined by a balance between the cohesive energy of the metal particles and the strength of the metal–carbon σ- or π-bonds. The pathways of transformations of a given metal can be drastically changed by applying different electron energies (80, 40, or 20 keV), thus demonstrating AC-HRTEM as a new tool to direct and study chemical reactions. The understanding of interactions and bonding between SWNT and metals revealed by AC-HRTEM at the atomic level has important implications for nanotube-based electronic devices and catalysis.

Citation

Zoberbier, T., Chamberlain, T. W., Biskupek, J., Suyetin, M., Majouga, A. G., Besley, E., …Khlobystov, A. N. (2016). Investigation of the Interactions and Bonding between Carbon and Group VIII Metals at the Atomic Scale. Small, 12(12), 1649-1657. https://doi.org/10.1002/smll.201502210

Journal Article Type Article
Acceptance Date Nov 11, 2015
Online Publication Date Feb 5, 2016
Publication Date Mar 23, 2016
Deposit Date Jul 19, 2016
Publicly Available Date Mar 29, 2024
Journal Small
Print ISSN 1613-6810
Electronic ISSN 1613-6810
Publisher Wiley
Peer Reviewed Peer Reviewed
Volume 12
Issue 12
Pages 1649-1657
DOI https://doi.org/10.1002/smll.201502210
Public URL https://nottingham-repository.worktribe.com/output/780097
Publisher URL http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/smll.201502210