Nanotubes growth mechanisms

Key Words—Carbon nanotubes, vapor-grown carbon fibers, high-resolution transmission electron microscope, graphite structure, nanotube growth mechanism, toroidal network. 

Determination of the structure of nanotubes is crucial for two reasons (1) to aid understanding the nanotube growth mechanism and (2) to anticipate whether intercalation can occur. Of the two models, only the paper roll structure can be intercalated. 

Fig. 10. Growth mechanism proposed for the helical nanotubes (a) and helicity (b), and the model that gives the bridge and laminated tip structure (c).

The direct linking of carbon nanotubes to graphite and the continuity in synthesis, structure and properties between carbon nanotubes and vapor grown carbon fibers is reviewed by the present leaders of this area, Professor M. Endo, H. Kroto, and co-workers. Further insight into the growth mechanism is presented in the article by Colbert and Smalley. New synthesis methods leading to enhanced production... 

An alternative route to obtain NbS2-sheathed carbon nanotubes (CNT) has been proposed by Zhu et al. [71] with this sonochemical method. In this study, CNTs act as templates to produce the uniform and well-crystallized bS2 nanotubes and the formation of such nanotubes has been explained by means of multi-point nuclei site growth mechanism. 

Figure 1.27 Double-walled silica nanotubes with monodisperse diameters self-orga-nize into highly ordered centimetre-sized fibres, using a synthetic octa-peptide as a template. The growth mechanism is proposed to be the fundamental mechanism for growth processes in biological systems. (Reproduced from ref. 53, with permission.)...

Charlier JC, Iijima S (2001) Growth mechanisms of carbon nanotubes. Carbon Nanotubes 80 55-80. 

Growth Mechanisms. Growth mechanisms have been investigated, andsev-eral theories have been proposed. There are two general models that are used to explain catalytic synthesis of nanowires or nanotubes. The first is called tip growth, in which... 

Several growth mechanisms of nanotubes have been proposed so far—e.g., open-end growth model (54), quasi-liquid tip model (29), and so forth. Here, we describe the quasi-liquid tip model for the growth of MWNTs. 

As authors supposed from the generally accepted concepts of mechanisms of carbon nanotube growth, the dispersed nickel sputtered must catalyze the growth of these nanotubes. The source for carbon should be carbon from the hydrocarbon that transforms into the vaporous state in the arc zone. It has been supposed to prepare single-wall nanotubes on the nickel particles 1-10 nm in size and the layer of nanotubes up to 1 pm thick on the larger nickel particles. 

Tessonnier J-P, Su DS. Recent progress on the growth mechanism of carbon nanotubes A review. ChemSusChem. 2011 4(7) 824-847. 

A root-growth mechanism has been proposed for the growth of BN nanotubes, wherein the nanotubes nucleate on the nickel boride catalyst particle often with irregular initiation caps and... 

A. Loiseau, X. Blase, J.C. Charlier, P. Gadelle, C. Journet, C. Laurent and A. Peigney, Synthesis methods and growth mechanisms, in Understanding Carbon Nanotubes. From Basics to Application, Lecture Notes in Physics 677, Springer, 2006. 

Vinciguerra, V., et al. (2003), Growth mechanisms in chemical vapour deposited carbon nanotubes, Nanotechnology, 14(6), 655-660. 

---