Thermodynamics of formation of carbon nanotubes catalyzed by nickel

Thermodynamic size conditions for transitions from a Ni thin film to a Ni p article and then from the Ni particle wrapped with carbon shell to a Ni nan oline are analyzed. It is found that the radius of a transformed particle m ust be 1.5 times larger than the thickness of the film, and the radius of t he formed nanoline have to be larger than half of the radius of the particl e. During the above transitions, the wrapped carbon shell on the particle i s transformed to a carbon nanotube, which is catalyzed by the shape change of the Ni particle through their semicoherent interface. Since the transiti on temperature reaches 62% of melting temperature of the Ni thin film, the transitions can proceed kinetically. The above predictions are supported by experimental results. (C) 1999 Elsevier Science B.V. AU rights reserved.