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High-resolution ultrahigh-vacuum electron microscopy of helical gold nanowires: junction and thinning process
Yoshifumi Oshima1, Yukihito Kondo, Kunio Takayanagi
1Tokyo Institute of Technology, Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Nagatsuta, Midori-ku, Yokohama 226-8502, Japan.
Abstract:
Helical multishell (HMS) gold nanowires were observed in situ by ultra-high-vacuum electron microscopy. During thinning of the helical nanowire, a junction was formed between two nanowires of different diameter. The structure of the gold junction is proposed in comparison with the multiwall carbon nanotube. The gold junction has a dislocation-like core to accommodate the number difference of the atomic rows that compose the HMS nanowires, while the carbon junction has a pair of five- and seven-membered rings. Thinning of the helical gold nanowire by electron-beam radiation can be caused by the climbing motion of the dislocation-like core along the nanowire.