Individual arc-discharge synthesized multiwalled carbon nanotubes probed with multiple measurement techniques

Abstract

Arc-discharge synthesized multiwalled carbon nanotubes (AD-MWNT), or related MWNTs, exhibit a good quality compared to the more common type of MWNT synthesized by catalytic chemical vapor deposition methods. Yet experimental measurements on these are rather few and typically have not correlated data from different measurement techniques. Here, the authors report Raman spectroscopy, scanning probe microscopy, conductivity measurements, and force microscopy on single AD-MWNTs. The results demonstrate the high quality of AD-MWNTs and are compatible with the view of them as the best approximation of MWNTs as an assembly of defect-free concentric individual single-walled carbon nanotubes. The authors also demonstrate conductance measurements over a step on the surface of an AD-MWNT, which is due to an abruptly broken outer layer(s), whereby the interlayer resistance is measured.