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Picture: A carbon nanotube is attached by covalent bonds to a metal crystal. The electron microscopy image shows an example for a junction between a cobalt crystal and a multi-wall carbon nanotube.
Julio A. Rodríguez-Manzo, Florian Banhart, Mauricio Terrones, Humberto Terrones, Nicole Grobert, Pulickel M. Ajayan, Bobby G. Sumpter, Vincent Meunier, Mingsheng Wang, Yoshio Bando, and Dmitri Golberg, “Heterojunctions between metals and carbon nanotubes as ultimate nanocontacts”, PNAS, 2009, 106, 4591-4595 Link to article
Junctions between carbon nanotubes and metal crystals
A way of creating junctions between nanometer-sized metal crystals and carbon nanotubes was discovered by an international research team, led by researchers at the Institut de Physique et Chimie des Matériaux in Strasbourg. The development of a technique for establishing strong covalent bonds between the end of a carbon nanotube and a metal has been published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS 106, 4591 (2009)).
The generation of junctions between carbon nanotubes and metal crystals was achieved by electron irradiation of composites of carbon nanotubes and nanocrystals of transition metals such as iron, cobalt, or nickel. The experiments were carried out with a new transmission electron microscope that has recently been installed in Strasbourg. Using in-situ electron microscopy, where manipulations of the objects can be done while observing them at high resolution, it was shown that strong covalent bonds were established between carbon and metal atoms at the interface and hold the two materials together. Electrical measurements show that these junctions have excellent electrical properties for applications as contacts.
The generation of junctions between carbon nanotubes and metal crystals was achieved by electron irradiation of composites of carbon nanotubes and nanocrystals of transition metals such as iron, cobalt, or nickel. The experiments were carried out with a new transmission electron microscope that has recently been installed in Strasbourg. Using in-situ electron microscopy, where manipulations of the objects can be done while observing them at high resolution, it was shown that strong covalent bonds were established between carbon and metal atoms at the interface and hold the two materials together. Electrical measurements show that these junctions have excellent electrical properties for applications as contacts.
Picture: A carbon nanotube is attached by covalent bonds to a metal crystal. The electron microscopy image shows an example for a junction between a cobalt crystal and a multi-wall carbon nanotube.
Julio A. Rodríguez-Manzo, Florian Banhart, Mauricio Terrones, Humberto Terrones, Nicole Grobert, Pulickel M. Ajayan, Bobby G. Sumpter, Vincent Meunier, Mingsheng Wang, Yoshio Bando, and Dmitri Golberg, “Heterojunctions between metals and carbon nanotubes as ultimate nanocontacts”, PNAS, 2009, 106, 4591-4595 Link to article
