SYNTHESIS OF CARBON NANOSTRUCTURES BY ION SPUTTERING

Carbon nanotubes and fullerene-like polyhedra have been synthesized in a surface layer of high-purity graphite by a 60 keV Ar+ ion bombardme nt with normal incident angle under high vacuum conditions of similar to 3 x 10(-7) Torr, Using high-resolution electron microscope (HRTEM) images, the termination of carbon-shell layers, seen on the tube and p olyhedron surfaces or cone tips, suggests that the growth of the nanos tructures possesses the characteristics of ion beam bombardment. (C) 1 998 Published by Elsevier Science B.V.