Controlled growth of Ni nanocrystals on SrTiO$_3$ and their application in the catalytic synthesis of carbon nanotubes

Jingyu R Sun (1) , Chen R Wu (1) , Fabien R Silly (2) , Antal R Koós (1) , Frank R Dillon (1) , Nicole R Grobert (1) , Martin Castell (1)

1 Department of Materials
2 LCSI - Laboratoire de Chimie des Surfaces et Interfaces

Truncated pyramid-shaped Ni nanocrystals were epitaxially grown on SrTiO$_3$(001) surfaces and characterised by scanning tunneling microscopy (STM). These nanocrystals were shown to be catalytically active for the synthesis of carbon nanotubes (CNTs). The narrow size distribution of the Ni nanocrystals results in a similar narrow distribution of CNT diameters.

Domains: Physics [physics]

Jingyu R Sun, Chen R Wu, Fabien R Silly, Antal R Koós, Frank R Dillon, et al.. Controlled growth of Ni nanocrystals on SrTiO$_3$ and their application in the catalytic synthesis of carbon nanotubes. Chemical Communications, 2013, 49, pp.3748 - 3750. ⟨10.1039/c3cc39114k⟩. ⟨cea-01481329⟩