Morphologies and microstructures of carbon nanotubes prepared by self-sustained arc discharging

• 来源期刊: 中国物理（英文版）
• 学科: 物理学
• 关键词: carbon nanotube arc discharge mic rostructure
• 年，卷（期）: 2002,（5）
• 页码范围: 496-501
• 页数: 6页
• 分类号: O4
• 语种: 英文

摘要

We have investigated the morphology and microstructure of carbon nanotubes and nanoparticles in cathode de-posits prepared by self-sustained arc discharge. Scanning electron microscopy images indicate that there are two regionsexhibiting different morphologies on the top surface of the cathode deposits. In the central region, there is a triangularpattern of spots with a diameter up to 100μm, which consists of carborn nanotubes and nanoparticles. In the fringeregion, carbon nanotubes and nanoparticles are distributed randomly.In addition, carbon nanotubes in the centralregion have a larger inner diameter, compared with those in the fringe region. The outer diameter distribution of tubesin the central region is narrower than that of tubes in the fringe region, while the former has a smaller peak value thanthe latter. For the nanoparticles, they exhibit a different behaviour from the tubes existing in the same region. Thedifference between the microstructure of tubes or particles in the two regions is attributed to the different temperaturesand temperature gradients during their formation.