Formation of C60 fullerene-bonded-CNTs using radio frequency plasma

Abstract

C60 fullerene-bonded-CNTs (CNBs) were successfully synthesized by radio frequency plasma (RF plasma) treatment for the first time. High-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM) and Raman spectroscopy were used to confirm the formation of the CNB structure. A possible mechanism was also proposed to explain the formation of CNBs. This RF plasma treatment may inspire a novel method to potentially overcome the synthetic difficulty of CNBs.