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Cardillo-Zallo I, Biskupek J, Bloodworth S, Marsden ES, Fay MW, Ramasse QM, Rance GA, Stoppiello CT, Cull WJ, Weare BL, Whitby RJ, Kaiser U, Brown PD, Khlobystov AN. Atomic-Scale Time-Resolved Imaging of Krypton Dimers, Chains and Transition to a One-Dimensional Gas. ACS NANO 2024; 18:2958-2971. [PMID: 38251654 PMCID: PMC10832048 DOI: 10.1021/acsnano.3c07853] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/21/2023] [Revised: 12/19/2023] [Accepted: 01/02/2024] [Indexed: 01/23/2024]
Abstract
Single-atom dynamics of noble-gas elements have been investigated using time-resolved transmission electron microscopy (TEM), with direct observation providing for a deeper understanding of chemical bonding, reactivity, and states of matter at the nanoscale. We report on a nanoscale system consisting of endohedral fullerenes encapsulated within single-walled carbon nanotubes ((Kr@C60)@SWCNT), capable of the delivery and release of krypton atoms on-demand, via coalescence of host fullerene cages under the action of the electron beam (in situ) or heat (ex situ). The state and dynamics of Kr atoms were investigated by energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS), electron energy loss spectroscopy (EELS), and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). Kr atom positions were measured precisely using aberration-corrected high-resolution TEM (AC-HRTEM), aberration-corrected scanning TEM (AC-STEM), and single-atom spectroscopic imaging (STEM-EELS). The electron beam drove the formation of 2Kr@C120 capsules, in which van der Waals Kr2 and transient covalent [Kr2]+ bonding states were identified. Thermal coalescence led to the formation of longer coalesced nested nanotubes containing more loosely bound Krn chains (n = 3-6). In some instances, delocalization of Kr atomic positions was confirmed by STEM analysis as the transition to a one-dimensional (1D) gas, as Kr atoms were constrained to only one degree of translational freedom within long, well-annealed, nested nanotubes. Such nested nanotube structures were investigated by Raman spectroscopy. This material represents a highly compressed and dimensionally constrained 1D gas stable under ambient conditions. Direct atomic-scale imaging has revealed elusive bonding states and a previously unseen 1D gaseous state of matter of this noble gas element, demonstrating TEM to be a powerful tool in the discovery of chemistry at the single-atom level.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ian Cardillo-Zallo
- School
of Chemistry, University of Nottingham, Nottingham NG7 2RD, United Kingdom
| | - Johannes Biskupek
- Electron
Microscopy Group of Materials Science, Central Facility for Electron
Microscopy, Ulm University, Ulm 89081, Germany
| | - Sally Bloodworth
- School
of Chemistry, University of Southampton, Southampton SO17 1BJ, United Kingdom
| | - Elizabeth S. Marsden
- School
of Chemistry, University of Southampton, Southampton SO17 1BJ, United Kingdom
| | - Michael W. Fay
- Nanoscale
and Microscale Research Centre, University
of Nottingham, Nottingham NG7 2QL, United
Kingdom
| | - Quentin M. Ramasse
- SuperSTEM
Laboratory, SciTech Daresbury Campus, Daresbury WA4 4AD, United Kingdom
- School of
Chemical and Process Engineering and School of Physics and Astronomy, University of Leeds, Leeds LS2 9JT, United Kingdom
| | - Graham A. Rance
- Nanoscale
and Microscale Research Centre, University
of Nottingham, Nottingham NG7 2QL, United
Kingdom
| | - Craig T. Stoppiello
- Centre
for Microscopy and Microanalysis, The University
of Queensland, Brisbane, Queensland 4072, Australia
| | - William J. Cull
- School
of Chemistry, University of Nottingham, Nottingham NG7 2RD, United Kingdom
| | - Benjamin L. Weare
- Nanoscale
and Microscale Research Centre, University
of Nottingham, Nottingham NG7 2QL, United
Kingdom
| | - Richard J. Whitby
- School
of Chemistry, University of Southampton, Southampton SO17 1BJ, United Kingdom
| | - Ute Kaiser
- Electron
Microscopy Group of Materials Science, Central Facility for Electron
Microscopy, Ulm University, Ulm 89081, Germany
| | - Paul D. Brown
- Department
of Mechanical, Materials & Manufacturing Engineering, University of Nottingham, Nottingham NG7 2RD, United Kingdom
| | - Andrei N. Khlobystov
- School
of Chemistry, University of Nottingham, Nottingham NG7 2RD, United Kingdom
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Liu S, Teng Y, Zhang Z, Lai J, Hu Z, Zhang W, Zhang W, Zhu J, Wang X, Li Y, Zhao J, Zhang Y, Qiu S, Zhou W, Cao K, Chen Q, Kang L, Li Q. Interlayer Charge Transfer Induced Electrical Behavior Transition in 1D AgI@sSWCNT van der Waals Heterostructures. NANO LETTERS 2024; 24:741-747. [PMID: 38166145 DOI: 10.1021/acs.nanolett.3c04298] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/04/2024]
Abstract
The emergence of one-dimensional van der Waals heterostructures (1D vdWHs) opens up potential fields with unique properties, but precise synthesis remains a challenge. The utilization of mixed conductive types of carbon nanotubes as templates has imposed restrictions on the investigation of the electrical behavior and interlayer interaction of 1D vdWHs. In this study, we efficiently encapsulated silver iodide in high-purity semiconducting single-walled carbon nanotubes (sSWCNTs), forming 1D AgI@sSWCNT vdWHs. We characterized the semiconductor-metal transition and increased the carrier concentration of individual AgI@sSWCNTs via sensitive dielectric force microscopy and confirmed the results through electrical device tests. The electrical behavior transition was attributed to an interlayer charge transfer, as demonstrated by Kelvin probe force microscopy. Furthermore, we showed that this method of synthesizing 1D heterostructures can be extended to other metal halides. This work opens the door for the further exploration of the electrical properties of 1D vdWHs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shuai Liu
- School of Physical Science and Technology, ShanghaiTech University, 393 Middle Huaxia Road, Shanghai, 201210, China
- Advanced Materials Division, Suzhou Institute of Nano-Tech and Nano-Bionics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 398 Ruoshui Road, Suzhou 215123, China
| | - Yu Teng
- Advanced Materials Division, Suzhou Institute of Nano-Tech and Nano-Bionics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 398 Ruoshui Road, Suzhou 215123, China
- School of Nano Science and Technology, University of Science and Technology of China, 96 Jinzhai Road, Hefei 230026, China
| | - Zhen Zhang
- Advanced Materials Division, Suzhou Institute of Nano-Tech and Nano-Bionics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 398 Ruoshui Road, Suzhou 215123, China
| | - Junqi Lai
- i-Lab, CAS Key Laboratory of Nanophotonic Materials and Devices, Suzhou Institute of Nano-Tech and Nano-Bionics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 398 Ruoshui Road, Suzhou 215123, China
| | - Ziyi Hu
- Advanced Materials Division, Suzhou Institute of Nano-Tech and Nano-Bionics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 398 Ruoshui Road, Suzhou 215123, China
| | - Wendi Zhang
- School of Physical Science and Technology, ShanghaiTech University, 393 Middle Huaxia Road, Shanghai, 201210, China
| | - Wujun Zhang
- Advanced Materials Division, Suzhou Institute of Nano-Tech and Nano-Bionics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 398 Ruoshui Road, Suzhou 215123, China
| | - Juntong Zhu
- Advanced Materials Division, Suzhou Institute of Nano-Tech and Nano-Bionics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 398 Ruoshui Road, Suzhou 215123, China
- School of Physical Sciences, CAS Key Laboratory of Vacuum Physics, University of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100190, China
| | - Xiujun Wang
- Advanced Materials Division, Suzhou Institute of Nano-Tech and Nano-Bionics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 398 Ruoshui Road, Suzhou 215123, China
| | - Yunfei Li
- Advanced Materials Division, Suzhou Institute of Nano-Tech and Nano-Bionics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 398 Ruoshui Road, Suzhou 215123, China
| | - Jintao Zhao
- Advanced Materials Division, Suzhou Institute of Nano-Tech and Nano-Bionics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 398 Ruoshui Road, Suzhou 215123, China
- School of Nano Science and Technology, University of Science and Technology of China, 96 Jinzhai Road, Hefei 230026, China
| | - Yong Zhang
- Advanced Materials Division, Suzhou Institute of Nano-Tech and Nano-Bionics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 398 Ruoshui Road, Suzhou 215123, China
| | - Song Qiu
- Advanced Materials Division, Suzhou Institute of Nano-Tech and Nano-Bionics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 398 Ruoshui Road, Suzhou 215123, China
| | - Wu Zhou
- School of Physical Sciences, CAS Key Laboratory of Vacuum Physics, University of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100190, China
| | - Kecheng Cao
- School of Physical Science and Technology, ShanghaiTech University, 393 Middle Huaxia Road, Shanghai, 201210, China
| | - Qi Chen
- i-Lab, CAS Key Laboratory of Nanophotonic Materials and Devices, Suzhou Institute of Nano-Tech and Nano-Bionics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 398 Ruoshui Road, Suzhou 215123, China
| | - Lixing Kang
- Advanced Materials Division, Suzhou Institute of Nano-Tech and Nano-Bionics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 398 Ruoshui Road, Suzhou 215123, China
| | - Qingwen Li
- School of Physical Science and Technology, ShanghaiTech University, 393 Middle Huaxia Road, Shanghai, 201210, China
- Advanced Materials Division, Suzhou Institute of Nano-Tech and Nano-Bionics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 398 Ruoshui Road, Suzhou 215123, China
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Zhao X, Wang K, Yang G, Wang X, Qiu C, Huang J, Long Y, Yang X, Yu B, Jia G, Yang F. Sorting of Cluster-Confined Metallic Single-Walled Carbon Nanotubes for Fabricating Atomically Vacant Uranium Oxide. J Am Chem Soc 2023; 145:25242-25251. [PMID: 37767700 DOI: 10.1021/jacs.3c08534] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 09/29/2023]
Abstract
Single-walled carbon nanotube (SWCNT) heterostructures have shown great potential in catalysis, magnetism, and nanofluidics, in which host SWCNTs with certain conductivity (metallic or semiconducting) are highly required. Herein, inspired by the large molecular weight and redox properties of polyoxometalate (POM) clusters, we reported the selective separation of POM encapsulated metallic SWCNTs (POM@m-SWCNTs) with a uniform diameter through density gradient ultracentrifugation (DGU). The confined POMs increased the SWCNT density and amplified the nanotubes' density difference, thus greatly lowering the centrifugal force (70,000g) of DGU. With this strategy, a series of POM@m-SWCNTs of ∼1.2 nm with high purity were sorted. The mechanism supported by theoretical and experimental evidence showed that the separation of m-SWCNTs depended on not only nanotube/cluster size but also the conductivity of SWCNTs. The smallest 1.2 nm m-SWCNT that can exactly accommodate a 0.9 nm-{Mo6} cluster exhibited the maximum electron transfer to inner clusters; thus, intertube π-π stacking of such m-SWCNTs was greatly loosened, leading to the preferential dispersion into individual ones and partitioning in the uppermost layer after DGU. As a proof-of-concept application, this sorting strategy was extended to separate heavy-element 238U-encapsulated m-SWCNTs. The phase-pure, tiny (1-2.5 nm) U4O9 crystals with atomic vacancy clusters were fabricated on m-SWCNTs through growth kinetic control. This work may provide a general way to construct desired actinide materials on specific SWCNTs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xin Zhao
- Department of Chemistry, Southern University of Science and Technology, Shenzhen 518055, China
- School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Harbin Institute of Technology, Harbin 150001, China
| | - Kun Wang
- Department of Chemistry, Southern University of Science and Technology, Shenzhen 518055, China
| | - Guoping Yang
- Jiangxi Key Laboratory for Mass Spectrometry and Instrumentation, Jiangxi Province Key Laboratory of Synthetic Chemistry, East China University of Technology, Nanchang 330013, China
| | - Xiao Wang
- Shenzhen Key Laboratory of Nanobiomechanics, Shenzhen Institute of Advanced Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenzhen 518055, China
| | - Chenguang Qiu
- Department of Electronics, Peking University, Beijing 100871, China
| | - Jian Huang
- Jiangxi Key Laboratory for Mass Spectrometry and Instrumentation, Jiangxi Province Key Laboratory of Synthetic Chemistry, East China University of Technology, Nanchang 330013, China
| | - Yanglin Long
- Department of Electronics, Peking University, Beijing 100871, China
| | - Xiaoxin Yang
- Shenzhen Key Laboratory of Nanobiomechanics, Shenzhen Institute of Advanced Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenzhen 518055, China
| | - Boyuan Yu
- Department of Chemistry, Southern University of Science and Technology, Shenzhen 518055, China
| | - Guodong Jia
- Department of Chemistry, Southern University of Science and Technology, Shenzhen 518055, China
| | - Feng Yang
- Department of Chemistry, Southern University of Science and Technology, Shenzhen 518055, China
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