Application of electron microscopy to the study of the structure, chemistry and growth of
nanotubes
A. Loiseau
Laboratoire d’Etudes des Microstructures, UMR 104, 0nera-Cnrs,
ONERA, B.P. 72, 92320 Châtillon Cedex, France
Nanotubes are cylindrical molecules with a diameter of as little as 1nm and a length up to
many micrometers. In the simplest case they only contain carbon atoms and can be considered
as a single layer of graphite that has been wrapped into a cylinder. Depending on the synthesis
conditions, carbon nanotubes self-organize either as crystalline ropes of single-walled
molecules or as ‘Russian dolls’ called multi-walled nanotubes. Nanotubular structure is not
restricted to carbon and has been also obtained for different composite or multi-element
systems such as multiwalled carbon nanotubes filled with metallic nanowires and BN-C
nanotubes. Different routes to synthesis have been developped which can be classified as high
temperature methods – electric arc discharge, laser ablation, solar vaporization – and as low
temperature methods – CVD, pyrolysis -.
In this lecture I will present a review of these different objects, their methods of synthesis and
their structure. A particular attention will be paid to transmission electron microscopy studies
that allow one to deduce the spatial chemical arrangement of these different tubes and
provides with precious information about their growth mechanism. We will show that a
general approach combining the vapor-liquid-solid scheme and the characteristics of the
solidification given by thermodynamic phase diagrams accounts very well for the observed
structures. A special attention will be paid to the case of the formation of ropes of single-wall
carbon nanotubes for which we propose a nuclation and growth mechanism from the
solidification of a metal-carbon liquid particle. This mechanism will be discussed in the
context of the formation of catalytic carbon fibers and filaments.
References:
C. Guerret-Piécourt, Y. Le Bouar, A. Loiseau and H. Pascard, Nature 372, 761 (1994); A. Loiseau and H.
Pascard, Chem. Phys. Lett. 256, 246 (1996).
N. Demoncy, O. Stéphan, N. Brun, C. Colliex, A. Loiseau and H. Pascard, Euro. Phys. J. B 4, 147 (1998).
A. Loiseau, F. Willaime, N. Demoncy, G. Hug, H. Pascard, Phys. Rev. Lett. 76, 4737 (1996).
A. Loiseau, F. Willaime, N. Demoncy, N. Schramchenko, G. Hug, C. Colliex, H. Pascard, Carbon 36 (1998) 743
K. Suenaga, C. Colliex, N. Demoncy, A. Loiseau, H. Pascard, F. Willaime, Science, 278, 653 (1997).
O. Stephan, Y. Bando, A. Loiseau, F. Willaime, N. Shramchenko, T. Tamiya, T. Sato, Appl. Phys. A 67 (1998)
107
K. Suenaga, F. Willaime, A. Loiseau, C. Colliex, Appl. Phys. A 68 (1999) 301- 309.
C. Journet, W. Maser, P. Bernier, A. Loiseau, M. Lamy de la Chapelle, S. Lefrant, P. Deniard, R. Lee, J.E.
Fischer, Nature 388 (1997) 756-758
L. Henrard, A. Loiseau, C. Journet, P. Bernier, Euro Phys. J. B 13, 661 (2000).