Determination of the chiral indices (n,m) of carbon nanotubes by electron diffraction

The atomic structure of a carbon nanotube can be defined by the chiral indices, (n,m), that specify its perimeter vector (chiral vector), with which the diameter and helicity are also determined. The fine electron beam available in a modern Transmission Electron Microscope (TEM) offers a unique and powerful probe to reveal the atomic structure of individual nanotubes. This article covers two aspects related to the use of the electron probe in the TEM for the study of carbon nanotubes: (i) to express the electron diffraction intensity distribution in the electron diffraction patterns of carbon nanotubes and (ii) to obtain the chiral indices (n,m) of carbon nanotubes from their electron diffraction patterns. For a nanotube of given chiral indices (n,m), the electron scattering amplitude from the carbon nanotube can be expressed analytically in closed form using the helical diffraction theory, from which its electron diffraction pattern can be calculated and understood. The reverse problem, i.e., assignment of the chiral indices (n,m) of a carbon nanotube from its electron diffraction pattern, is approached from the relationship between the electron diffraction intensity distribution and the chiral indices (n,m). The first method is to obtain indiscriminately the chiral indices (n,m) by reading directly the intensity distribution on the three principal layer lines, l(1), l(2), and l(3), which have intensities proportional to the square of the Bessel functions of orders m, n, and n + m: I(l1) proportional, variant |J(m) (pidR)|(2), I(l2) proportional, variant |J(n) (pidR)|(2), and I(l3) proportional, variant |J(n+m) (pidR)|(2). The second method is to obtain and use the ratio of the indices n/m = (2D(1)-D(2))/(2D(2)-D(1)) in which D(1) and D(2) are the spacings of principal layer lines l(1) and l(2), respectively. Examples of using these methods are also illustrated in the determination of chiral indices of isolated individual single-walled carbon nanotubes, a bundle of single-walled carbon nanotubes, and multi-walled carbon nanotubes.     

Effects of the reaction atmosphere composition on the synthesis of single and multiwalled nitrogen-doped nanotubes

Single and multiwalled nitrogen-doped carbon nanotubes were grown by chemical vapor deposition varying the feedstock composition between pure acetonitrile and ethanol/acetonitrile mixtures. The advantage of using CN sources that develop close vapor pressure values has been used in order to elucidate the effects of the reaction atmosphere in the synthesis of N-doped nanotubes. Our findings show that the morphology of the nanotube material depends strongly on the composition of the reaction atmosphere. When carrying out the experiments in an atmosphere solely determined by the vapor pressure of the feedstock components, improved homogeneity is achieved with pure CN sources or low concentration of the foreign solute. Under these conditions the temperature has strong influence in the diameter distribution.     

催化裂解CH4制备碳纳米管的影响因素

以柠檬酸法制备的Fe-MgO、Co-MgO和Ni-MgO为催化剂,CH4为碳源气,H2为还原气,在873、973和1073 K制备出碳纳米管,通过TEM和拉曼光谱表征,讨论了催化剂、制备温度、反应时间等因素对碳纳米管形貌、产率和内部结构的影响.结果表明:不同的催化剂在相同的温度下制备的碳纳米管的形态和内部结构有很大的差异.其中Fe-MgO催化剂制备的碳纳米管管径粗,且大小不均匀,而Ni-MgO催化剂制备的碳纳米管管径较细、较均匀.碳纳米管的产率随着裂解温度的变化而改变.Fe-MgO催化剂制备碳纳米管的产率随制备温度的升高而提高,而Ni-MgO催化剂制备碳纳米管的产率随制备温度的升高而降低.Fe-MgO催化剂制备碳纳米管,在1073K甚至更高的制备温度才能达到其最高产率.Co-MgO催化剂制备碳纳米管的产率在973 K左右产率较高,而用Ni-MgO催化剂制备碳纳米管,则在873 K甚至更低的制备温度就能达到最高产率.反应时间与碳纳米管的产率不成正比,有一最佳反应时间,如Ni-MgO催化剂的最佳反应时间为2 h.     

CVD growth of N-doped carbon nanotubes on silicon substrates and its mechanism

In the present study, we report the chemical vapor deposition (CVD) of nitrogen-doped (N-doped) aligned carbon nanotubes on a silicon (Si) substrate using ferrocene (Fe(C5H5)2) as catalyst and acetonitrile (CH3CN) as the carbon source. The effect of experimental conditions such as temperature, gaseous environment, and substrates on the structure and morphology of N-doped carbon nanotubes arrays is reported. From XPS and EELS data, it was found that the nitrogen content of the nanotubes could be determined over a wide range, from 1.9% to 12%, by adding the addition of hydrogen (H2) to the reaction system. It was also shown by SEM that N-doped carbon nanotube arrays could be produced on Si and SiO2 substrates at suitable temperatures, although at different growth rates. Using these concentrations, it was possible to produce three-dimensional (3D) carbon nanotubes architectures on predetermined Si/SiO2 patterns. The mechanism underlying the effect of nitrogen containing carbon sources on nanotube formation was explored using X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS).     

CVD growth of single-walled carbon nanotubes with narrow diameter distribution over Fe/MgO catalyst and their fluorescence spectroscopy

Single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWNTs) with a narrow diameter distribution are synthesized by thermal chemical vapor deposition (CVD) of methane over Fe/MgO catalyst on the basis of parametric study considering Fe loading, reaction temperature and time, methane concentration, and structure of a support material. We found that the porous MgO support gives the SWNTs with a narrow diameter distribution with the mean diameter and standard deviation of 0.93 and 0.06 nm, respectively, only when the Fe loading and reaction temperature are relatively low. The higher Fe loading and/or the higher reaction temperature enlarged the nanotube diameter, forming double-walled carbon nanotubes (DWNTs) in addition to SWNTs. This result indicates that only the diameter of Fe nanoparticles determines the growth of either SWNTs or DWNTs on the MgO support. The fluorescence and absorption spectra of the nanotube dispersion in D(2)O solution with sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) were studied to identify their chirality distribution. The fluorescence of the uniform-diameter SWNTs indicates the formation of the near armchair structures. On the other hand, the SWNTs synthesized over the catalyst with a high Fe loading, 3 wt %, showed a wide chirality distribution including the near zigzag structure. The synthesis of the SWNTs with a narrow diameter distribution could be applied to the selection of SWNTs with a specific chirality based on postsynthesis separation.     

FT-IR Study of Carbon Nanotube Supported Co-Mo Catalysts

In this paper, adsorption properties of dibenzothiophene (DBT) on carbon nanotube, carbonnanotube supported oxide state and sulfide state CoMo catalysts are studied by using thermal gravi-metric analysis (TGA) technique and FT-IR spectroscopy. Activated carbon support, 7-A1203 supportand supported CoMo catalysts are also subjected to studies for comparison. It was found that sulfidestate CoMoS/MWCNT, CoMoS/AC and CoMoS/γ-A12O3 catalysts adsorbed much more DBT moleculesthan their corresponding oxide state catalysts, as well as their corresponding supports. The chemicallyadsorbed DBT aromatic molecules did not undergo decomposition on the surface of supports, supportedoxide state CoMo catalysts and sulfide state CoMo catalysts when out-gassing at 373 K. FT-IR results indicated that DBT molecules mainly stand upright on the active sites (acid sites and/or transition active phases) of CoMoS/MWCNT catalyst. However, DBT aromatic molecules mainly lie flat on MWCNT and CoMoO/MWCNT.     

Selective synthesis of (9,8) single walled carbon nanotubes on cobalt incorporated TUD-1 catalysts

Selective synthesis of single walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) with specific (n,m) structures is desired for many potential applications. Current chirality control growth has only achieved at small diameter (6,5) and (7,5) nanotubes. Each (n,m) species is a distinct molecule with structure-dependent properties; therefore it is essential to extend chirality control to various (n,m) species. In this communication, we demonstrate the highly selective synthesis of (9,8) nanotubes on a cobalt incorporated TUD-1 catalyst are (Co-TUD-1). When catalysts were prereduced in H(2) at the optimized temperature of 500 °C, 59.1% of semiconducting nanotubes have the (9,8) structure. The uniqueness of Co-TUD-1 relies on its low reduction temperature (483 °C), large surface area, and strong metal-support interaction, which stabilizes Co clusters responsible for the growth of (9,8) nanotubes. SWCNT thin film field effect transistors fabricated using (9,8) nanotubes from our synthesis process have higher average device mobility and a higher fraction of semiconducting devices than those using (6,5) nanotubes. Combining with further postsynthetic sorting techniques, our selective synthesis method brings us closer to the ultimate goal of producing (n,m) specific nanotube materials.     

Catalyst volume to surface area constraints for nucleating carbon nanotubes

In this Article, we describe a carbon nanotube formation model in which sp2 carbon hemispheres form the embryonic caps from which a nanotube can grow. This requirement leads to a single wall carbon nanotube formation window concomitant with our systematic experimental findings, which show upper and lower diameter limits. Further, the successful formation of a nucleation cap (hemisphere) is governed by catalyst particle volume to surface area considerations. Single wall carbon nanotubes are only obtained when both the nanotube formation window and the precipitating catalyst size distribution cross over. The extent to which these two windows overlap establishes the mean diameter and diameter distribution of the obtained single wall carbon nanotubes.     

Application of Thermogravimetry and Differential Thermal Analysis in Catalytic CVD Synthesis of Carbon Nanotubes

Multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MW-CNTs) were prepared by chemical vapor deposition (CVD) method with the decomposition of acetylene over Co/SiO2 catalyst. TG-DTA technique was used together with TEM and XRD to study the effect of reaction temperature on the composition, graphitized extent, and diameter distribution of the produced raw CNTs based on their oxidization resistance. During the decomposition, the micro-crystallite of the active constituent (Co/SiO2) were growing up as the reaction temperature rising. This in turn resulted in an increase of the diameter distribution range of produced MW-CNTs. The average diameter increased from 20~30 nm (650℃) to 30~50 nm (750℃). XRD results also showed the graphitized extent of MW-CNTs was enhanced meanwhile the spacing between the layers (d002) decreased from 3.45 (650℃) to 3.32 (850℃) with the reaction temperature raised. TG-DTA data showed that the exothermic peak of the amorphous carbon was below 380℃and its content would decrease as temperature increasing. In summary, for CVD production of CNTs using acetylene gas on Co/SiO2 catalyst, low temperature (about 650℃) favored producing thinner MW-CNTs with the diameter from 20 to 30 nm while higher temperature (about 850℃) is favored thicker MW-CNTs (diameter from 70 to 100 nm).     

Size Dependence of Nanoscale Confinement on Chiral Transformation

Molecular dynamic simulations of the chiral transition of a difluorobenzo[c]phenanthrene molecule (C₁₈H₁₂F₂, D molecule) in single‐walled boron‐nitride nanotubes (SWBNNTs) revealed remarkable effects of the nanoscale confinement. The critical temperature, above which the chiral transition occurs, increases considerably with the nanotube diameter, and the chiral transition frequency decreases almost exponentially with respect to the reciprocal of temperature. The chiral transitions correlate closely with the orientational transformations of the D molecule. Furthermore, the interaction energy barriers between the D molecule and the nanotube for different orientational states can characterize the chiral transition. This implies that the temperature threshold of a chiral transition can be controlled by a suitable nanotube. These findings provide new insights to the effect of nanoscale confinement on molecular chirality.     

A rapid synthesis of iron phosphate nanoparticles via surface-mediated spontaneous reaction for the growth of high-yield, single-walled carbon nanotubes

The direct formation of iron phosphate nanoparticles on hydroxyl-terminated SiO(2)/Si substrates with a narrow size distribution (average diameter = 2.2 nm) is achieved by a simple room temperature spontaneous reaction of ferric chloride and phosphoric acid. Single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWNTs) are grown in high yield from the synthesized iron phosphate nanoparticles by the thermal chemical vapor deposition (CVD) method, as confirmed by atomic force microscopy (AFM) and Raman spectroscopy. Furthermore, three-terminal, p-type, nanotube network field effect transistor (FET) devices are successfully fabricated using the synthesized SWNTs via the photolithography technique. The reduced solubility of Fe(III) ions when they form iron phosphate salts in aqueous media is the main driving force for the nanoparticle formation. Systematic control experiments reveal that the surface property, concentration, and pH of the reaction solution play equally important roles in the formation of nanoparticles.     

Narrow (n,m)-distribution of single-walled carbon nanotubes grown using a solid supported catalyst

Unusually structure-selective growth of single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWNTs) has been attained using a CVD method with a solid supported catalyst. In this method, CO feedstock disproportionates on silica-supported catalytic nanoclusters of Co that are formed in situ from mixed salts of Co and Mo. The nanotube products are analyzed by spectrofluorimetry to reveal distributions resolved at the level of individual (n,m) structures. Two structures, (6,5) and (7,5), together dominate the semiconducting nanotube distribution and comprise more than one-half of that population. The average diameter of produced SWNTs is only 0.81 nm, and a strong propensity is found favoring chiral angles near the armchair limit.     

Effect of the support calcination temperature on selective hydrodesulfurization of TiO2 nanotubes supported CoMo catalysts

TiO₂ nanotubes (TiO₂-NTs) were synthesized by the hydrothermal method. Co and Mo active components were supported on a series of the as-prepared TiO₂-NTs samples which were calcined at different temperatures. The effects of support calcination temperature of CoMo/TiO₂-NTs catalysts on their catalytic performance were investigated for selective hydrodesulfurization (HDS). The samples were characterized by means of the scanning electron microscopy (SEM), the transmission electron microscopy (TEM), N₂ adsorption-desorption, X-ray diffraction (XRD), Raman spectroscopy and H₂ temperature-programmed reduction (H₂-TPR). The experimental results revealed that TiO₂-NTs support calcined under 500 °C can maintain the nanotubular structure with higher surface area and pore volume. Meanwhile, the obtained supported CoMo/TiO₂-NTs catalysts exhibited weak metal-support interaction, more octahedral Mo⁶⁺ species and high catalytic performance in selective HDS.     

The use of NH3 to promote the production of large-diameter single-walled carbon nanotubes with a narrow (n,m) distribution

We demonstrate here a simple and effective (n,m)-selective growth of single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) in an aerosol floating catalyst chemical vapor deposition (CVD) process by introducing a certain amount of ammonia (NH(3)). Chiralities of carbon nanotubes produced in the presence of 500 ppm NH(3) at 880 °C are narrowly distributed around the major semiconducting (13,12) nanotube with over 90% of SWCNTs having large chiral angles in the range 20°-30°, and nearly 50% in the range 27°-29°. The developed synthesis process enables chiral-selective growth at high temperature for structurally stable carbon nanotubes with large diameters.     

Direct gas-phase epoxidation of propylene to propylene oxide using air as oxidant on supported gold catalyst

Gold catalysts supported on SiO2, TiO2, TiO2-SiO2, and ZrO2-SiO2 supports were prepared by impregnating each support with a basic solution of tetrachloroauric acid. X-ray diffraction （XRD）, transmission electron microscopy （TEM）, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy （XPS） techniques were used to characterize their structure and surface composition. The results indicated that the size of gold particles could be controlled to below 10 nm by this method of preparation. Washing gold catalysts with water could markedly enhance the dispersion of metallic gold particles on the surface, but it could not completely remove the chloride ions left on the surface. The catalytic performance of direct vapor-phase epoxidation of propylene using air as an oxidant over these catalysts was evaluated at atmospheric pressure. The selectivity to propylene oxide （PO） was found to vary with reaction time on the stream. At the reaction conditions of atmosphere pressure, temperature 325 ℃, feed gas ratio V（C3H6）/V（O2）= 1/2, and GHSV =6000h^-1, 17.9% PO selectivity with 0.9% propylene conversion were obtained at initial 10 min for Au/SiO2 catalyst. After reacting 60 min only 8.9% PO selectivity were detected, but the propylene conversion rises to 1.4% and the main product is transferred to acrolein （72% selectivity）. Washing Au/TiO2-SiO2 and Aa/ZrO2-SiO2 samples with magnesium citrate solution could markedly enhance the activity and PO selectivity because smaller gold particles were obtained.     

Structural parameters of carbon nanotubes obtained by the chemical vapor decomposition of ethylene onto nickel nanoparticles deposited on basic supports

The structural parameters of carbon nanotubes (CNT) obtained on different catalysts were studied. Depending on the support and method of catalyst preparation, the formation of cylindrical multi-wall, spiral CNT and nanofibers with different mean diameters and diameter distribution is possible. Nitrogen adsorption occurs mainly on the outer surface of the CNT.     

Constrained iron catalysts for single-walled carbon nanotube growth

The diameter of single walled carbon nanotubes (SWNTs) determines the electronic properties of the nanotube. The diameter of carbon nanotubes is dictated by the diameter of the catalyst particle. Here we describe the use of iron nanoparticles synthesized within the Dps protein cage as catalysts for the growth of single-walled carbon nanotubes. The discrete iron particles synthesized within the Dps protein cages when used as catalyst particles gives rise to single-walled carbon nanotubes with a limited diameter distribution.     

Production of hydrogen-rich gas and multi-walled carbon nanotubes from ethanol decomposition over molybdenum modified Ni/MgO catalysts

A series of molybdenum modified Ni/MgO catalysts(Ni-Mo/MgO) with different loading ratios of Ni : Mo were prepared by impregnation method. Ethanol decomposition to co-produce multi-walled carbon nanotubes and hydrogen-rich gas at temperatures of 600–800 ℃ was investigated over the synthesized Ni-Mo/MgO catalysts. The results showed that the catalytic activity depended strongly on the reaction temperature and loading ratio of Ni : Mo. According to the gaseous and solid products obtained, the reaction pathways for ethanol decomposition were suggested.     

Family behaviour of Raman-active phonon frequencies of single-wall nanotubes of C, BN and BC3

Using a symmetry-based force-constant model of the lattice dynamics, the Raman-active phonon frequencies are calculated for almost 200 single-wall nanotubes of C, BN and BC(3). The n+m=constant family behaviour is found in most branches and these three kinds of nanotubes display different diameter and chirality dependence in different branches. In these branches, vibration modes that C, BN and BC(3) nanotubes have in common are presented in detail. For a particular family, the phonon frequency at Gamma point changes regularly with the chiral angle. Therefore, we may distinguish among single-wall nanotubes with similar diameter and different chiral angle.     

配合物的配位基团性质对CoMo/γ-Al_2O_3催化剂加氢脱硫性能的影响

选择四种不同配位基团的双齿配位分子乙二胺(EN)、乙醇胺(EA)、乙二醇(EG)和丙二酸(MA)对CoMo/γ-Al_2O_3催化剂改性,比较了它们对二苯并噻吩HDS性能的影响。结果表明,其活性顺序为CoMo(EN)CoMo(EA)CoMo(EG)≈CoMo(MA)CoMo,反应以直接脱硫路径为主,随反应温度升高,加氢路径的占比增加,加入配合物后可以促进加氢路径脱硫,CoMo(EN)催化剂具有最高的加氢活性。采用UV-vis、EA、XPS和HRTEM等手段对催化剂进行表征,结果表明,-NH_2与Co~(2+)有强络合作用,-COOH主要是静电作用,而-OH与钴离子没有相互作用。配位基团和Co~(2+)的相互作用,与HDS活性直接相关。配合物与Co~(2+)的结合可以有效生成Co-Mo-S活性相,且配合物碳化减弱载体与活性相的相互作用,有利于生成有更高本征活性的II型活性相。