Migration of a Carbon Adatom on a Charged Single-Walled Carbon Nanotube

摘要

We find that negative charges on an armchair single-walled carbon nanotube(SWCNT) can significantly enhance the migration of a carbon adatom on theexternal surfaces of SWCNTs, along the direction of the tube axis. Nanotubecharging results in stronger binding of adatoms to SWCNTs and consequent longerlifetimes of adatoms before desorption, which in turn increases their migrationdistance several orders of magnitude. These results support the hypothesis ofdiffusion enhanced SWCNT growth in the volume of arc plasma. This process couldenhance effective carbon flux to the metal catalyst.