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Morphology – composition correlations in carbon nanotubes synthesised with nitrogen and phosphorus containing precursors

Nicholls, Rebecca J. and Aslam, Zabeada and Sarahan, Michael C. and Sanchez, Ana M. and Dillon, Frank and Koós, Antal Adolf and Nellist, Peter D. and Grobert, Nicole (2015) Morphology – composition correlations in carbon nanotubes synthesised with nitrogen and phosphorus containing precursors. Physical Chemistry Chemical Physics, 17 (3). pp. 2137-2142. ISSN 1463-9076

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Abstract

We have correlated the elemental composition with the structure of multi-wall carbon nanotubes synthesised with nitrogen and phosphorus containing precursors and identified two chemically distinct dominant morphologies. The first type are cone-structured tubes and the second are nanotubes with fewer walls which can accommodate N2 gas along their inner channel and contain up to ten times more nitrogen than the cone-structured nanotubes. Phosphorus was present in the catalyst particles but was not detected within the walls of either type of nanotube. Elemental analysis combined with in situ electrical measurements has allowed us to monitor the evolution of the doped nanotubes when current is passed. The N2 gas becomes bonded immediately when current flows and the gas-containing nanotubes restructure more easily than the cone-structured ones. Since the inclusion of heteroatoms in multi-wall carbon nanotubes is generally inhomogeneous, understanding the distribution of elements across the sample is an important step towards the optimization of devices including gas sensors and components in electrical applications.

Item Type: Article
Subjects: Q Science / természettudomány > QC Physics / fizika > QC06 Physics of condensed matter / szilárdtestfizika
Depositing User: Dr Antal A Koós
Date Deposited: 18 Sep 2015 10:00
Last Modified: 26 Sep 2016 10:02
URI: http://real.mtak.hu/id/eprint/26887

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