In situ observations of fullerene fusion and ejection in carbon nanotubes

Gorantla, Sandeep; Börrnert, Felix; Bachmatiuk, Alicja; Dimitrakopoulou, Maria; Schönfelder, R.; Schäffel, Franziska; Thomas, Jürgen; Gemming, Thomas; Borowiak‐Palen, E.; Warner, Jamie H.; Yakobson, Boris I.; Eckert, J.; Büchner, B.; Rümmeli, Mark H.

doi:10.1039/c0nr00426j

Cited by 19 publications

(13 citation statements)

References 20 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…When applying an electrical current through the CNTs, the motion of particles inside is very complicated and extensive studies have shown that electromigration, thermomigration, and evaporation can take place at the same time . The electron‐beam irradiation effects can induce coalescence of fullerenes inside CNTs, or coalescence between a fullerene residing on the outside wall of a CNT and the CNT ( Figure ), or even coalescence of two CNTs assisted by electric bias . When a graphene nanoribbon is encapulated in a CNT, the helical structure can merge into a CNT structure under electron‐beam irradiation …”

Section: In‐situ Investigationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Low Voltage Transmission Electron Microscopy of Graphene

Bachmatiuk

Zhao

Gorantla

et al. 2014

Small

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The initial isolation of graphene in 2004 spawned massive interest in this two-dimensional pure sp(2) carbon structure due to its incredible electrical, optical, mechanical, and thermal effects. This in turn led to the rapid development of various characterization tools for graphene. Examples include Raman spectroscopy and scanning tunneling microscopy. However, the one tool with the greatest prowess for characterizing and studying graphene is the transmission electron microscope. State-of-the-art (scanning) transmission electron microscopes enable one to image graphene with atomic resolution, and also to conduct various other characterizations simultaneously. The advent of aberration correctors was timely in that it allowed transmission electron microscopes to operate with reduced acceleration voltages, so that damage to graphene is avoided while still providing atomic resolution. In this comprehensive review, a brief introduction is provided to the technical aspects of transmission electron microscopes relevant to graphene. The reader is then introduced to different specimen preparation techniques for graphene. The different characterization approaches in both transmission electron microscopy and scanning transmission electron microscopy are then discussed, along with the different aspects of electron diffraction and electron energy loss spectroscopy. The use of graphene for other electron microscopy approaches such as in-situ investigations is also presented.

show abstract

Section: In‐situ Investigationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In‐situ HRTEM observations of a fullerene ejection from the host single‐walled CNT, through penetration and necking‐off of a hump. Reprinted with permission . Copyright 2010, Royal Society of Chemistry.…”

Section: In‐situ Investigationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Low Voltage Transmission Electron Microscopy of Graphene

Bachmatiuk

Zhao

Gorantla

et al. 2014

Small

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Also, fullerenes fused onto CNT appeared to be unstable and it is still not clear under which condition a hump structure will form. In the previously reported hump structure, 23 well-separated fullerenes were nally observed in each case, which indicates a more stable fullerene structure. According to our in situ data, isolated fullerenes were found aer even $2 h of e-beam irradiation (see Fig.…”

Section: Experiments Results and Discussionmentioning

confidence: 48%

“…It is also worth noting that the observed fullerene structure is different from the previously reported hump structure (or a fused fullerene). 23 First, the hump structure shows no carbon wall distance of 0.33 nm (the graphite VdW layer distance), which is different from the situation of the encapsulated fullerene. The latter case should show a carbon wall distance of no less than 0.33 nm, which is in accordance with our results.…”

Section: Experiments Results and Discussionmentioning

confidence: 92%

Fullerene growth from encapsulated graphene flakes

Wan

Lei

et al. 2014

Nanoscale

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The direct in situ observation of fullerene formation encapsulated within a graphene ridge has been made possible using an aberration corrected transmission electron microscope (AC-TEM). An atom-by-atom mechanism was proposed based on in situ AC-TEM observations. First principle calculations found a continuous energy decrease upon the addition of carbon atoms to the edge of the graphene flakes, which mimics the fullerene growth steps and supports the atom-by-atom mechanism. The ridged graphene structure worked as a container for pinning small graphene flakes and capturing carbon atoms, which increased the growth probability of the fullerene structure within the small encapsulated space.

show abstract

“…Out of this numerous studies began to look at the combination, interactions, and transformations of different sp 2 carbon nanostructures. For example, fullerenes encapsulated inside carbon nanotubes, so-called peapods, generated great interest in their ability to form double-walled carbon nanotubes as well as other exotic behaviors. − Fullerenes merging onto the outside of single walled carbon nanotubes and their morphing entry into a nanotube has been demonstrated . Graphite intercalated with fullerenes have also been examined in TEM …”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

In Situ Electron Driven Carbon Nanopillar-Fullerene Transformation through Cr Atom Mediation

Zhao

Dianat

et al. 2017

Nano Lett.

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The promise of sp nanomaterials remains immense, and ways to strategically combine and manipulate these nanostructures will further enhance their potential as well as advance nanotechnology as a whole. The scale of these structures requires precision at the atomic scale. In this sense electron microscopes are attractive as they offer both atomic imaging and a means to structurally modify structures. Here we show how Cr atoms can be used as physical linkers to connect carbon nanotubes and fullerenes to graphene. Crucially, while under electron irradiation, the Cr atoms can drive transformations such as catalytic healing of a hole in graphene with simultaneous transformation of a single wall carbon nanotube into a fullerene. The atomic resolution of the electron microscopy along with density functional theory based total energy calculations provide insight into the dynamic transformations of Cr atom linkers. The work augments the potential of transmission electron microscopes as nanolaboratories.

show abstract

In situ observations of fullerene fusion and ejection in carbon nanotubes

Cited by 19 publications

References 20 publications

Low Voltage Transmission Electron Microscopy of Graphene

Low Voltage Transmission Electron Microscopy of Graphene

Fullerene growth from encapsulated graphene flakes

In Situ Electron Driven Carbon Nanopillar-Fullerene Transformation through Cr Atom Mediation

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About