Understanding the metal-carbon interface in FePt catalyzed carbon nanotubes

• Published in: Physical review letters Vol. 107; no. 18; p. 185501
• Main Authors: Pohl, D, Schäffel, F, Rümmeli, M H, Mohn, E, Täschner, C, Schultz, L, Kisielowski, C, Rellinghaus, B
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States American Physical Society 25-10-2011
• ISSN: 0031-9007; 1079-7114
• DOI: 10.1103/physrevlett.107.185501

Any tip functionalization of carbon nanotubes, for which the relative orientation between their (metallic) catalyst particle and the nanotube axis is essential, requires a detailed knowledge of the nature of the internal interface between the particle and the outgrown tube. In the present work, this interface is characterized with atomic precision using state-of-the-art low-voltage aberration-corrected transmission electron microscopy in combination with molecular dynamics simulations for the case of hard-magnetically terminated carbon nanotubes. Our results indicate that the physical principle based upon which the interfacial metal facet is chosen is a reduction of the desorption energy for carbon.