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Published on: July 2, 2012
Growing Zigzag (16,0) Carbon Nanotubes with Structure-Defined Catalysts.
Feng Yang1, Xiao Wang1, Daqi Zhang1
1†Beijing National Laboratory for Molecular Science, Key Laboratory for the Physics and Chemistry of Nanodevices, State Key Laboratory of Rare Earth Materials Chemistry and Applications, College of Chemistry and Molecular Engineering, Peking University, Beijing 100871, China.
Achieving selective growth of zigzag single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWNTs) is difficult. This study demonstrates dominant (16,0) SWNT growth (∼80%) using W6Co7 intermetallic catalysts with specific planes acting as templates.
Area of Science:
- Materials Science
- Nanotechnology
- Chemical Engineering
Background:
- Selective synthesis of specific single-walled carbon nanotube (SWNT) chiralities remains a significant challenge in nanotechnology.
- Zigzag SWNTs, particularly the (16,0) type, are difficult to grow with high selectivity, with previous reports showing yields around 7%.
Purpose of the Study:
- To achieve dominant growth of zigzag (16,0) single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWNTs).
- To investigate the role of intermetallic catalysts and specific crystallographic planes in templating SWNT growth.
Main Methods:
- Utilized intermetallic W6Co7 catalysts, characterized by abundant (1 1 6) planes.
- Optimized chemical vapor deposition (CVD) growth conditions.
- Analyzed catalyst structure and its correlation with SWNT chirality.
Main Results:
- Achieved dominant growth of (16,0) SWNTs with an abundance near 80%.
- Identified the (1 1 6) planes in W6Co7 as potential structure templates for (16,0) SWNTs.
- Demonstrated a geometrical match between the (16,0) SWNT open end and the W6Co7 (1 1 6) atomic arrangement.
Conclusions:
- The use of catalysts with designed structures, specifically W6Co7 with (1 1 6) planes, can serve as solid-state templates for selective zigzag SWNT growth.
- Optimized kinetic conditions in conjunction with templating catalysts are crucial for high-selectivity SWNT synthesis.
- This strategy offers a promising pathway for the controlled production of specific zigzag SWNT structures.
