Eur. Phys. J. B 22, 117-122 (2001)
https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01322353

Electron beam puncturing of carbon nanotube containers for release of stored N₂ gas

¹ Laboratoire de Physique des Solides (UMR 8502) , Université Paris Sud, bâtiment 510, 91405 Orsay, France
² ONERA - LEM, BP 72 - 29, avenue de la Division Leclerc, 92322 Chatillon Cedex, France
³ School of Chemistry, Physics and Environmental Science, University of Sussex, Brighton BN1 9QJ, UK

Corresponding author: ^a colliex@lps.u-psud.fr

Received: 30 January 2001
Revised: 5 April 2001
Published online: 15 July 2001

Abstract

Carbon nanotubes containing nitrogen encapsulated in nanocontainers regularly distributed along the tube axis, have been produced by pyrolysing camphor in the presence of a mixture of nitrogen and ammonia gas. Spatially resolved electron energy-loss spectroscopy (EELS) analysis reveals that N₂ molecules are contained within the nanocapsules. The well-graphitized walls can be punctured by electron irradiation, thus partially releasing N₂. This process is accompanied by the formation of amorphous CN_x islands, as demonstrated by dynamic recording and analysis of time- resolved EELS sequences. Such local in situ electron beam nanomachining and nanoanalysis provide a method for producing under control new classes of nanodevices.