Direct Correlation of Carbon Nanotube Nucleation and Growth with the Atomic Structure of Rhenium Nanocatalysts Stimulated and Imaged by the Electron Beam

Kecheng Cao; Thomas W Chamberlain; Johannes Biskupek; Thilo Zoberbier; Ute Kaiser; Andrei N Khlobystov

doi:10.1021/acs.nanolett.8b02657

Direct Correlation of Carbon Nanotube Nucleation and Growth with the Atomic Structure of Rhenium Nanocatalysts Stimulated and Imaged by the Electron Beam

Nano Lett. 2018 Oct 10;18(10):6334-6339. doi: 10.1021/acs.nanolett.8b02657. Epub 2018 Sep 13.

Authors

Kecheng Cao¹, Thomas W Chamberlain^{2

3}, Johannes Biskupek¹, Thilo Zoberbier¹, Ute Kaiser¹, Andrei N Khlobystov^{2

4}

Affiliations

¹ Electron Microscopy of Materials Science, Central Facility for Electron Microscopy , Ulm University , Albert-Einstein-Allee 11 , Ulm 89081 , Germany.
² School of Chemistry , University of Nottingham , University Park , Nottingham NG7 2RD , United Kingdom.
³ Institute of Process Research and Development, School of Chemistry , University of Leeds , Leeds LS2 9JT , United Kingdom.
⁴ Nanoscale & Microscale Research Centre (nmRC) , University of Nottingham , University Park , Nottingham NG7 2RD , United Kingdom.

PMID: 30185052
DOI: 10.1021/acs.nanolett.8b02657

Abstract

Subnanometer Re clusters confined in a single-walled carbon nanotube are activated by the 80 keV electron beam to promote the catalytic growth of a new carbon nanotube. Transmission electron microscopy images the entire process step-by-step, with atomic resolution in real time, revealing details of the initial nucleation followed by a two-stage growth. The atomic dynamics of the Re cluster correlate strongly with the nanotube formation process, with the growth accelerating when the catalyst becomes more ordered. In addition to the nanotube growth catalyzed by Re nanoclusters, individual atoms of Re released from the nanocluster play a role in the nanotube formation.

Keywords: Carbon nanotube; catalysis; chemTEM; metal cluster; transmission electron microscopy.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't