Revealing the Impact of Catalyst Phase Transition on Carbon Nanotube Growth by in Situ Raman Spectroscopy

Abstract

The physical state of the catalyst and its impact on the growth of single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWNTs) is the subject of a long-standing debate. We addressed it here using in situ Raman spectroscopy to measure Fe and Ni catalyst lifetimes during the growth of individual SWNTs across a wide range of temperatures (500 1400 C). The temperature dependence of the Fe catalyst lifetimes underwent a sharp increase around 1100 C due to a solidto- liquid phase transition. By comparing experimental results with the metal carbon phase diagrams, we prove that SWNTs can grow from solid and liquid phase-catalysts, depending on the temperature.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Jan 01, 2013
Accession Number
ADA573890

Entities

People

  • Avetik R. Harutyunyan
  • Benji Maruyama
  • David Liptak
  • Daylond Hooper
  • Gordon Sargent
  • Neal Pierce
  • Rahul Rao
  • Sheldon Lee Semiatin
  • Stefano Curtarolo

Organizations

  • Air Force Research Laboratory

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Advanced Electronics

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Carbon Nanotubes
  • Catalysts
  • Diagrams
  • Fullerenes
  • G Band
  • Liquids
  • Materials
  • Particle Size
  • Particles
  • Phase
  • Phase Diagrams
  • Phase Transformations
  • Raman Spectra
  • Raman Spectroscopy
  • Spectroscopy
  • Transitions
  • United States

Fields of Study

  • Physics

Readers

  • Electrochemical Engineering/ Fuel Cell Technologies
  • Nanocomposite Materials Science
  • Thin Film Deposition Science.