Atomic-scale structural identification and evolution of Co-W-C ternary SWCNT catalytic nanoparticles: High-resolution STEM imaging on SiO<sub>2</sub>.
basic_science · Level V
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- Record sourced from PubMed, PMID 31236457.
- Also identified by DOI 10.1126/sciadv.aat9459 and PMC identifier 6587631.
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Abstract
Recently, W-based catalysts have provided a promising route to synthesize single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) with specific chirality, but the mechanism of the growth selectivity is vaguely understood. We propose a strategy to identify the atomic structure as well as the structure evolution of the Co-W-C ternary SWCNT catalyst. The key is to use a thin SiO<sub>2</sub> film as the catalyst support and observation window. As the catalyst is uniformly prepared on this SiO<sub>2</sub> film and directly used for the SWCNT synthesis, this method has an advantage over conventional methods: it creates an opportunity to obtain original, statistical, and dynamic understanding of the catalyst. As a technique, atomic-scale imaging directly on SiO<sub>2</sub> serves as a powerful and versatile tool to investigate nanocrystals and high-temperature reactions; for the synthesis of SWCNTs, this work successfully visualizes the structure and evolution of the catalyst and illuminates the possible nucleation sites of the chirality-specific growth.