Metallic lithium (Li) anode batteries have attracted considerable attention due to their high energy density value. However, metallic Li is highly reactive and flammable, which makes Li anode batteries difficult to develop. In this work, for the first time, we report the synthesis of metallic Li-embedded carbon nanocomposites for easy and safe handling by a scalable ion beam-based method. We found that vertically standing conical Li-C nanocomposite (Li-C NC), sometimes with a nanofiber on top, can be grown on a graphite foil commonly used for the anodes of lithium-ion batteries. Metallic Li embedded inside the carbon matrix was found to be highly stable under ambient conditions, making transmission electron microscopy (TEM) characterization possible without any sophisticated inert gas-based sample fabrication apparatus. The developed ion beam-based fabrication technique was also extendable to the synthesis of stable Li-C NC films under ambient conditions. In fact, no significant loss of crystallinity or change in morphology of the Li-C film was observed when subjected to heating at 300 °C for 10 min. Thus, these ion-induced Li-C nanocomposites are concluded to be interesting as electrode materials for future Li-air batteries.

We report on a precursor supply technique controlled h-BN crystal growth over the catalytic activity of Cu by APCVD.

In situ TEM experiments were carried out to demonstrate the catalytic properties of Mo during graphene synthesis.

Controlling the flow rate of carrier gases tunes the mode of growth from anisotropic to isotropic along with enlarging the crystal size.

In this work, we report the synthesis of two new forms of WS 2 nanostructures -freestanding WS 2 trees and fibers on Au by chemical vapor deposition. It is observed that dislocation-driven growth causes WS 2 crystals to grow and merge in both vertical and horizontal directions to form the pyramidal tree. During the formation of WS 2 fibers, the presence of two-step growth was demonstrated. It is observed that sulphurization of WO 3 nanoparticle leads to formation of WS 2 rod in the first stage, followed by second stage in which selective growth causes some WS 2 layers grow faster compared to other ones leading to the formation of fibrous WS 2 structure. Fibers synthesized by our reported method have highly exposed WS 2 layers which can demonstrate interesting catalytic and edge related properties or can be functionalized for future applications.