TEM study of Co - Ni nanoparticles catalysts extracted from laser - produced single - wall carbon nanotubes

The growth of single-wall carbon nanotubes (SWNTs) by the laser-oven method occurs in a chaotic environment composed of laser-vaporized C, Co and Ni species at elevated temperature (~1200 oC) and at near-atmospheric pressure (500 Torr Ar). While several hypotheses have been put forward [1] to explain the growth mechanism, the exact role of the Co and Ni in the catalytic process is still subject to controversy and intense debate. An exhaustive analytical investigation of the Co-Ni NPs would provide an insight to fully address the complex problem of the growth mechanism and understand the dependency of the NPs composition on the catalysis of SWNTs. The purpose of this abstract is to present a summary of an quantitative electron energy-loss spectroscopy (EELS) investigation on Co-Ni alloyed NPs coproduced with SWNTs by the laser-oven method [2].