In-situ optical microscopy observations of the growth of individual carbon nanocoils

摘要

The authors investigate individual carbon nanocoil (CNC) growth by in-situ observations using optical microscopy. From the temperature dependence of growth rate, the activation energy for CNC growth was found to be 0.5 eV. A higher activation energy of 1.1 eV was required to form noncoiled fibers. Comparing these activation energies indicated that incorporating Sn within the Fe matrix lowered the activation energy for carbon diffusion, within or on catalyst particles. The authors also found that the smooth growth of some CNCs was inhibited by the collision of catalyst particles at the tips of the CNCs.