Unraveling Nanotubes: Field Emission from an Atomic Wire

作者：Andrew Gabriel Rinzler, Jason H. Hafner, Pavel N. Nikolaev, Peter J. Nordlander, Daniel T. Colbert, R. E. Smalley, L.H. Lou, Seong‐Gon Kim, David Tománek · 发表于：Science · 年份：1995 · DOI：10.1126/science.269.5230.1550 · 被引用次数：1594 · 研究领域：Carbon Nanotubes in Composites、Fullerene Chemistry and Applications、Graphene research and applications

Field emission of electrons from individually mounted carbon nanotubes has been found to be dramatically enhanced when the nanotube tips are opened by laser evaporation or oxidative etching. Emission currents of 0.1 to 1 microampere were readily obtained at room temperature with bias voltages of less than 80 volts. The emitting structures are concluded to be linear chains of carbon atoms, Cn, (n = 10 to 100), pulled out from the open edges of the graphene wall layers of the nanotube by the force of the electric field, in a process that resembles unraveling the sleeve of a sweater.