Migration of a Carbon Adatom on a Charged Single-Walled Carbon Nanotube

TL;DR

This study demonstrates that charging armchair single-walled carbon nanotubes significantly increases carbon adatom mobility and binding strength, potentially boosting nanotube growth in plasma environments.

Contribution

It reveals how negative charges on SWCNTs enhance adatom migration and binding, providing insights into nanotube growth mechanisms under plasma conditions.

Findings

Negative charging increases adatom migration distance.

Charging strengthens adatom binding and extends lifetime.

Results support diffusion-enhanced growth in plasma environments.

Abstract

We find that negative charges on an armchair single-walled carbon nanotube (SWCNT) can significantly enhance the migration of a carbon adatom on the external surfaces of SWCNTs, along the direction of the tube axis. Nanotube charging results in stronger binding of adatoms to SWCNTs and consequent longer lifetimes of adatoms before desorption, which in turn increases their migration distance several orders of magnitude. These results support the hypothesis of diffusion enhanced SWCNT growth in the volume of arc plasma. This process could enhance effective carbon flux to the metal catalyst.