A 3D insight on the catalytic nanostructuration of few-layer graphene

Melinte, G. ; Florea, I. ; Moldovan, S. ; Janowska, I. ; Baaziz, W. ; Arenal, R. ; Wisnet, A. ; Scheu, C. ; Begin-Colin, S. ; Begin, D. ; Pham-Huu, C. ; Ersen, O.

Resumen: The catalytic cutting of few-layer graphene is nowadays a hot topic in materials research due to its potential applications in the catalysis field and the graphene nanoribbons fabrication. We show here a 3D analysis of the nanostructuration of few-layer graphene by iron-based nanoparticles under hydrogen flow. The nanoparticles located at the edges or attached to the steps on the FLG sheets create trenches and tunnels with orientations, lengths and morphologies defined by the crystallography and the topography of the carbon substrate. The cross-sectional analysis of the 3D volumes highlights the role of the active nanoparticle identity on the trench size and shape, with emphasis on the topographical stability of the basal planes within the resulting trenches and channels, no matter the obstacle encountered. The actual study gives a deep insight on the impact of nanoparticles morphology and support topography on the 3D character of nanostructures built up by catalytic cutting.

Idioma: Inglés

DOI: 10.1038/ncomms5109

Año: 2014

Publicado en: Nature Communications 5 (2014), 4109 [8 pp]
ISSN: 2041-1723

Factor impacto JCR: 11.47 (2014)

Categ. JCR: MULTIDISCIPLINARY SCIENCES rank: 3 / 57 = 0.053 (2014) - Q1 - T1

Financiación: info:eu-repo/grantAgreement/EC/FP7/280658/EU/Doped carbon nanostructures as metal-free catalysts/FREECATS
Financiación: info:eu-repo/grantAgreement/EC/FP7/312483/EU/Enabling Science and Technology through European Electron Microscopy/ESTEEM 2

Tipo y forma: Article (Published version)