• 文献标题:   In situ observation of graphene sublimation and multi-layer edge reconstructions
  • 文献类型:   Article
  • 作  者:   HUANG JY, DING F, YAKOBSON BI, LU P, QI L, LI J
  • 作者关键词:   flat fullerene, fractal sublimation, graphene bilayer edge, in situ electron microscopy, fractional nanotube
  • 出版物名称:   PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
  • ISSN:   0027-8424
  • 通讯作者地址:   Sandia Natl Labs
  • 被引频次:   154
  • DOI:   10.1073/pnas.0905193106
  • 出版年:   2009

▎ 摘  要

We induced sublimation of suspended few-layer graphene by in situ Joule-heating inside a transmission electron microscope. The graphene sublimation fronts consisted of mostly {1100} zigzag edges. Under appropriate conditions, a fractal-like "coastline'' morphology was observed. Extensive multiple-layer reconstructions at the graphene edges led to the formation of unique carbon nanostructures, such as sp(2)-bonded bilayer edges (BLEs) and nanotubes connected to BLEs. Flat fullerenes/nanopods and nanotubes tunneling multiple layers of graphene sheets were also observed. Remarkably, >99% of the graphene edges observed during sublimation are BLEs rather than monolayer edges (MLEs), indicating that BLEs are the stable edges in graphene at high temperatures. We reproduced the "coastline'' sublimation morphologies by kinetic Monte Carlo (kMC) simulations. The simulation revealed geometrical and topological features unique to quasi-2-dimensional (2D) graphene sublimation and reconstructions. These reconstructions were enabled by bending, which cannot occur in first-order phase transformations of 3D bulk materials. These results indicate that substrate of multiple-layer graphene can offer unique opportunities for tailoring carbon-based nanostructures and engineering novel nano-devices with complex topologies.