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Published on: February 5, 2017
Mass transportation mechanism in electric-biased carbon nanotubes
Jiong Zhao1, Jia-Qi Huang, Fei Wei
1The State Key Laboratory of New Ceramics and Fine Processing, Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Beijing National Center for Electron Microscopy, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, China.
Abstract:
The mass transportation mechanism in electric-biased carbon nanotubes (CNTs) is investigated experimentally. Except for the widely accepted electromigration mechanism, we find out the thermal effect can also induce the mass transportation in the form of thermomigration or thermal evaporation. Moreover, the convincing in situ transmission electron microscope experiment results show the thermal gradient force overrides the electromigration force in most conditions, according to specific parameters of the CNTs and "cargos". A full analysis on the thermal gradient force and electromigration force imposed on the cargos is given, thus our experimental results are well explained and understood.

