Growth and Characterization of Iron Nanoparticle Catalysts for Nanomaterial Synthesis

摘要

The properties and structure of nanoscale particles can vary widely from their bulk counterparts. In order to use nanoparticles effectively one must first have an understanding of their composition. In this study, Fe nanoparticles were grown on fused quartz substrates using a method that allows for varying particle size and surface coverage by altering the particle deposition time. The resulting particles were analyzed using x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) in order to understand how nanoparticle composition evolves as a function of deposition time. In addition, atomic force microscopy (AFM) was used to correlate the changes in size and surface density of the Fe particles with the changes in the XPS spectra as deposition time was varied. Knowledge gained through this study will be used to optimize the growth of Fe nanoparticles for single-walled carbon nanotube (SWNT) synthesis.