Swinging Crystal Edge of Growing Carbon Nanotubes.
ACS Nano
; 17(8): 7135-7144, 2023 Apr 25.
Article
en En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-37014049
ABSTRACT
Recent direct measurements of the growth kinetics of individual carbon nanotubes revealed abrupt changes in the growth rate of nanotubes maintaining the same crystal structure. These stochastic switches call into question the possibility of chirality selection based on growth kinetics. Here, we show that a similar average ratio between fast and slow rates of around 1.7 is observed largely independent of the catalyst and growth conditions. A simple model, supported by computer simulations, shows that these switches are caused by tilts of the growing nanotube edge between two main orientations, close-armchair or close-zigzag, inducing different growth mechanisms. The rate ratio of around 1.7 then simply results from an averaging of the number of growth sites and edge configurations in each orientation. Beyond providing insights on nanotube growth based on classical crystal growth theory, these results point to ways to control the dynamics of nanotube edges, a key requirement for stabilizing growth kinetics and producing arrays of long, structurally selected nanotubes.
Texto completo:
1
Colección:
01-internacional
Base de datos:
MEDLINE
Idioma:
En
Revista:
ACS Nano
Año:
2023
Tipo del documento:
Article
País de afiliación:
Francia