Heating and Cooling Dynamics of Carbon Nanotubes Observed by Temperature-Jump Spectroscopy and Electron Microscopy

摘要

Since their discovery,carbon nanotubes (CNTs) have been the subject of numerous studies, including applications in biotechnology and cell therapy.One important characteristic of CNTs is their ability to efficiently convert light into thermal energy. Through vibrational excitations (phonons), the temperature rise can reach thousands of degrees.Remarkably, at such high temperatures, up to 4000 K, the nanotubes exhibit exceptional thermal stability and robustness when compared with, e.g., graphite or even diamond. Although thermal effects of suspended CNTs in solution have extensively been studied (by examining the time scale of bubble formation as a result of heat transfer from the hot nanotubes to the solvent), what remain unclear are the primary steps involved in the heating of the tubes and the cooling to the surrounding medium.