An amino-carboxylic motif is identified as a novel synthon in the formation of 2D hetero-organic architectures at surfaces. The well-defined interacting scheme we describe herein represents an ideal prototypical system for further investigation of the interaction at surfaces of the two functional groups.
Well-defined sized (5-10 nm) metallic iron nanoparticles (NPs) with body-centered cubic structure encapsulated inside the tip of millimeter-long vertically aligned carbon nanotubes (VACNTs) of uniform length have been investigated with high-resolution transmission electron microscopy and soft X-ray spectroscopy techniques. Surface-sensitive and chemically-selective measurements have been used to evaluate the magnetic properties of the encapsulated NPs. The encapsulated Fe NPs display magnetic remanence up to room temperature, low coercivity, high chemical stability and no significant anisotropy. Our surface-sensitive measurements combined with the specific morphology of the studied VACNTs allow us to pinpoint the contribution of the surface oxidized or hydroxidized iron catalysts present at the VACNT-substrate interface.
By using a variety of experimental techniques, we were able to reveal the presence of few percent of well-ordered graphene islands mixed to disordered carbon, isolated carbon tubes, and flakes. The sample were synthesized on a metallic TiN film using catalytic chemical vapor deposition and characterized by scanning electron microscopy, Raman spectroscopy, and K-resolved inverse photoemission spectroscopy. Because of the metallic TiN support and the presence of well-ordered one or two layers graphene islands, the so grown carbon nanostructures (CNs) can be used in many applications. Our results indicate that a multi-techniques approach is fundamental to fully characterize CNs.
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