Morphology of the growth tip of carbon microcoils/nanocoils

Abstract

Single-helix twisted carbon nanocoils and single-helix spring-like carbon micro/nanocoils were prepared by the CVD process of the catalytic pyrolysis of acetylene at 700–800 °C over Fe-containing alloys in large scale, with a high purity and good reproducibility and with the coil yield of about 60%. The morphology and microstructure were examined. The catalyst grains on the growth tip of the nanocoils were observed closely. The results indicated that most of the twisted nanocoils grown by a two directional growth mode; that is, two twisting nanocoils grew out of a catalyst grain in opposite chirality and the fibers are grown in the herring-bone structure. Spring-like carbon coils were prepared with over sputtered Fe alloys on ceramics supporters, with a high purity and good reproducibility and with the coil yield of about 20%. All of the spring-like carbon coils are of one directional growth mode, and their coiling diameter and coil pitch are about the same size of several hundred nanometers. It is very common to observe spring-like nanocoils with laces, TEM investigation results showed that the spring-like nanocoils are of tubular coils.