Electric and Mass Transport of a Carbon Nanotube Encapsulating a Copper Nano-Rod Studied by In-Situ Transmission Electron Microscopy

摘要

Electric properties and current-induced structural changes of carbon nanotubes (CNTs) encapsulating copper nano-rods were studied by in-situ transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The diameter and the length of a copper filled CNT were 18 nm and 256 nm, respectively. The thickness of the graphite layer was about 1 nm. The bias voltage was applied between the two ends of the CNT inside the TEM, and the current as well as TEM images were recorded simultaneously. At a bias voltage of 1.4 V, the current increased to 10 μA, corresponding to a current density of 4.0 × 10~6 A/cm~2, and at the same time the nano-rods inside the CNT started to move to an end of the CNT. After the movement of the nano-rods, an empty CNT was left. Resistivities of the CNT and the copper nano-rod were measured to be 3.0 × 10~(-5) Ωm and 1.2 × 10~(-4) Ωm, respectively.