Atomic nanotube welders: Boron interstitials triggering connections in double-walled carbon nanotubes
Atomic nanotube welders: Boron interstitials triggering connections in double-walled carbon nanotubes
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DOI：
10.1021/nl050627l
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发表时间：
2005-06-01
期刊：
影响因子：
10.8
通讯作者：
Dresselhaus, MS
中科院分区：
文献类型：
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作者：
Endo, M;Muramatsu, H;Dresselhaus, MS
在这里，我们证明了在热退火（1400-1600℃）过程中，硼(B)原子在双壁碳纳米管（DWNTs）之间的结合导致了共价纳米管“Y”结、DWNT聚结和扁平多壁碳纳米管（MWNTs）的形成。这些过程通过相邻管的合并发生，这是由B间隙原子触发的。我们观察到，碳纳米管之间的B原子间隙负责相邻管之间快速建立共价连接（聚合），从而导致嵌入B原子的碳圆柱体快速退火。一旦B在晶格中，管面化（多边形化）开始发生，电子性质预计会发生巨大变化。因此，B原子确实充当原子纳米管熔合器（或焊接机），并且该工艺现在可以用于组装新型电子纳米管器件、纳米管网络、碳纳米泡沫和具有p型电子特性的异质结。
Here we demonstrate that the incorporation of boron (B) atoms between double-walled carbon nanotubes (DWNTs) during thermal annealing (1400-1600 degrees C) results in covalent nanotube "Y" junctions, DWNT coalescence, and the formation of flattened multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWNTs). These processes occur via the merging of adjacent tubes, which is triggered by B interstitial atoms. We observe that B atom interstitials between DWNTs are responsible for the rapid establishment of covalent connections between neighboring tubes (polymerization), thereby resulting in the fast annealing of the carbon cylinders with B atoms embedded in the newly created carbon nanotube network. Once B is in the lattice, tube faceting (polygonization) starts to occur, and the electronic properties are expected to change dramatically. Therefore, B atoms indeed act as atomic nanotube fusers (or welders), and this process could now be used in assembling novel electronic nanotube devices, nanotube networks, carbon nanofoams and heterojunctions exhibiting p-type electronic properties.