0000000000769101
AUTHOR
Arkady V. Krasheninnikov
Ion irradiation of carbon nanotubes encapsulating cobalt crystals
Abstract The response of multi-walled carbon nanotubes encapsulating Co nanorods to ion irradiation was studied. The irradiation experiments with medium ion energies (40–500 keV) were carried out at high temperatures and combined with transmission electron microscopy and Raman characterization of the irradiated samples. Contrary to electron irradiation and high-energy (100 MeV) ion irradiation, we did not see accumulation of pressure inside irradiated nanotubes. We found that nanotubes with Co nanorods inside were transformed to amorphous carbon rods encapsulating Co clusters with typical diameters of 3–6 nm. As Co is magnetic, such one-dimensional composite systems could be used for variou…
In-situ electron irradiation studies of metal-carbon nanostructures
The properties and the behaviour of nanoparticles are subjects of highest current importance. Experiments on individual clusters are generally difficult but can be carried out by the techniques of modern in-situ electron microscopy. The electron beam can be used as a tool to induce structural changes on an almost atomic scale [1].
Carbon nanotubes under electron irradiation: Stability of the tubes and their action as pipes for atom transport
The production and migration of carbon interstitials in carbon nanotubes under electron irradiation is studied experimentally and theoretically. It is shown that the threshold for displacing carbon atoms and the defect production rate strongly depend on the diameter of the nanotubes. Multiwalled nanotubes shrink by a loss of atoms and by diffusion of interstitials through the inner hollow in the axial direction. Thus, experimental evidence is given that nanotubes can act as nanoscale pipes for the transport of atoms.
Carbon nanotubes as high-pressure cylinders and nanoextruders.
Closed-shell carbon nanostructures, such as carbon onions, have been shown to act as self-contracting high-pressure cells under electron irradiation. We report that controlled irradiation of multiwalled carbon nanotubes can cause large pressure buildup within the nanotube cores that can plastically deform, extrude, and break solid materials that are encapsulated inside the core. We further showed by atomistic simulations that the internal pressure inside nanotubes can reach values higher than 40 gigapascals. Nanotubes can thus be used as robust nanoscale jigs for extruding and deforming hard nanomaterials and for modifying their properties, as well as templates for the study of individual n…
Plastic Deformation of Single Nanometer-Sized Crystals
We report in situ electron microscopy observations of the plastic deformation of individual nanometer-sized Au, Pt, W, and Mo crystals. Specifically designed graphitic cages that contract under electron irradiation are used as nanoscopic deformation cells. The correlation with atomistic simulations shows that the observed slow plastic deformation is due to dislocation activity. Our results also provide evidence that the vacancy concentration in a nanoscale system can be smaller than in the bulk material, an effect which has not been studied experimentally before.
The diffusion of carbon atoms inside carbon nanotubes
We combine electron irradiation experiments in a transmission electron microscope with kinetic Monte Carlo simulations to determine the mobility of interstitial carbon atoms in single-walled carbon nanotubes. We measure the irradiation dose necessary to cut nanotubes repeatedly with a focused electron beam as a function of the separation between the cuts and at different temperatures. As the cutting speed is related to the migration of displaced carbon atoms trapped inside the tube and to their recombination with vacancies, we obtain information about the mobility of the trapped atoms and estimate their migration barrier to be about 0.25 eV. This is an experimental confirmation of the remar…
Engineering of nanostructured carbon materials with electron or ion beams.
Irradiating solids with energetic particles is usually thought to introduce disorder, normally an undesirable phenomenon. But recent experiments on electron or ion irradiation of various nanostructures demonstrate that it can have beneficial effects and that electron or ion beams may be used to tailor the structure and properties of nanosystems with high precision. Moreover, in many cases irradiation can lead to self-organization or self-assembly in nanostructures. In this review we survey recent advances in the rapidly evolving area of irradiation effects in nanostructured materials, with particular emphasis on carbon systems because of their technological importance and the unique ability…
Stability of carbon nanotubes under electron irradiation: Role of tube diameter and chirality
As recent experiments demonstrate, the inner shells of multiwalled carbon nanotubes are more sensitive to electron irradiation than the outer shells. To understand the origin of such counterintuitive behavior, we employ a density-functional-theory based tight-binding method and calculate the displacement threshold energies for carbon atoms in single-walled nanotubes with different diameters and chiralities. We show that the displacement energy and the defect production rate strongly depend on the diameter of the nanotube and its chirality, with the displacement energy being lower, but saturating towards the value for graphite when the tube diameter increases. This implies that the threshold…