Microsc. Microanal. Microstruct. 4, 505-512 (1993)
DOI: 10.1051/mmm:0199300406050500

HREM characterization of graphitic nanotubes

Daniel Ugarte

Laboratorio Nacional de Luz Sincrotron (CNPq/MCT), Caixa Postal 6192, 13081-970 Campinas SP, Brazil and Institut de Physique Expérimentale, Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, 1015 Lausanne, Switzerland

Abstract
We use high resolution electron microscopy to study the structure of carbon nanotubes. Although the great scientific and technologic interest generated by these nanometric structures, their growth mechanism remains not completely understood. We study the atomic structure of the tubes and in particular we concentrate on some frequent defective configurations in order to get some insight into the formation process. A very interesting case is constituted by nanotubes showing irregular (0.34-0.6 nm) interlayer spacing, this fact would allow the doping of the tubes, and probably the optimization of their electric properties.

PACS
6146 - Nanoscale materials: clusters, nanoparticles, nanotubes, and nanocrystals.

Key words
Experimental study -- Microstructure -- Nanostructures -- Fullerenes -- High-resolution methods -- TEM -- Atomic structure -- Graphite -- Structure of liquids -- Structure of solids -- Crystallography -- Condensed matter physics -- Materials science -- Physics -- Condensed state physics


© EDP Sciences 1993