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Graphitic Disks or Polygons? Faceting of Graphite Disks

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 July 2020

A. Krishnan
Affiliation:
NEC Research Institute, Inc., 4 Independence Way, Princeton, NJ08540
E. Dujardin
Affiliation:
Laboratoire de Chimie des Interactions Moleculaires - College de France, 75005, Paris, France
T.W. Ebbesen
Affiliation:
NEC Research Institute, Inc., 4 Independence Way, Princeton, NJ08540 ISIS Louis Pasteur University, 67000, Strasbourg, France
M.M.J. Treacy
Affiliation:
NEC Research Institute, Inc., 4 Independence Way, Princeton, NJ08540
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Extract

The recent discovery of graphite cones [1,2] has raised some interesting questions about the nucleation and growth of curved graphitic structures. Here we report the structural peculiarities of one member of the ensemble, i.e. the flat graphite disks. Unlike graphite flakes seen in carbon soot which are irregularly shaped, the disks in this sample often show regular faceting which might give us additional insight into the growth mechanisms.

The samples were examined in a Hitachi H9000 NAR TEM. Samples were sonicated in high purity methanol and dispersed on a 300 mesh Cu grid coated with a 20 nm thick amorphous carbon layer. Typical disk diameters range from 0.5 to 3.0 μm, with thickness ranging from 10 nm to 50 nm.

A close examination reveals that the edges of the disks are faceted and typically have 12 sides. In most cases, the edges show a long facet alternating with a shorter facet.

Type
Nanophase and Amorphous Materials
Copyright
Copyright © Microscopy Society of America

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References

References:

1.Krishnan, A., Dujardin, E., Treacy, M.M.J., Hugdahl, J., Lynum, S. and Ebbesen, T.W., Graphitic cones and the nucleation of curved graphitic structures. Nature, 388, 451454 (1997).CrossRefGoogle Scholar
2.M. Ge, & Sattler, K., Observation of fullerene cones. Chem. Phys. Lett. 220, 192196 (1994).CrossRefGoogle Scholar
3.Thomas, J.M., in Chemistry and Physics of Carbon (ed. Walker, P.W., Jr.), Vol. 1, Ch. 3, (Marcel Dekker, New York, 1965).Google Scholar