Subnanometer-Wide Indium Selenide Nanoribbons

Indium selenides (In_xSe_y) have been shown to retain several desirable properties, such as ferroelectricity, tunable photoluminescence through temperature-controlled phase changes, and high electron mobility when confined to two dimensions (2D). In this work we synthesize single-layer, ultrathin, subnanometer-wide In_xSe_y by templated growth inside single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs). Despite the complex polymorphism of In_xSe_y we show that the phase of the encapsulated material can be identified through comparison of experimental aberration-corrected transmission electron microscopy (AC-TEM) images and AC-TEM simulations of known structures of In_xSe_y. We show that, by altering synthesis conditions, one of two different stoichiometries of sub-nm In_xSe_y, namely InSe or β-In₂Se₃, can be prepared. Additionally, in situ AC-TEM heating experiments reveal that encapsulated β-In₂Se₃ undergoes a phase change to γ-In₂Se₃ above 400 °C. Further analysis of the encapsulated species is performed using X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), energy dispersive X-ray analysis (EDX), and Raman spectroscopy, corroborating the identities of the encapsulated species. These materials could provide a platform for ultrathin, subnanometer-wide phase-change nanoribbons with applications as nanoelectronic components.

Cross-sectional transmission electron microscopy observation of sub-nano-sized molybdenum carbide crystals in carbon nanotubes

Cross-sectional observation of molybdenum carbide nanocrystals inside carbon nanotubes was successfully conducted in this study. The nanocrystals were generated by irradiating as-synthesized encapsulated molybdenum oxide crystals with an intense electron beam; the most probable composition of the crystals was determined to be α-MoC1-x by electron diffraction, high-resolution transmission electron microscopy, and energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy. Thinning processes using a focused ion beam and an Ar-ion mill enabled cross-sectional observations along the tube axis. As a result, it became clear that the molybdenum carbide crystals show translational symmetry with a parallelogram configuration having preferred {111} facets when observed from the [110] direction, despite the sub-nanometer order of the crystals.

A new type of molybdenum oxide crystal encapsulated inside a single-walled carbon nanotube

The crystal structure of a new type of molybdenum oxide crystal encapsulated in a single-walled carbon nanotube (CNT) was examined via diffraction and spectroscopic techniques using both X-rays and electron beams. This new type of molybdenum oxide crystal has a chemical bonding state of MoO3, as confirmed by X-ray absorption spectroscopy, and the MoO3 units exhibit axial symmetry, as clarified by electron diffraction from bundled and individual CNTs encapsulating the crystal. To obtain three-dimensional information on the structure, a cross-sectional sample was prepared using a conventional dimple and ion-mill method. High-resolution transmission electron microscopy images exhibit ring-like shapes that originated from the arrangement of the MoO3 units inside the CNTs, as observed along the tube axis. The units are spaced 0.36 nm from each other in a ring arrangement and the distance between each ring is 0.391 nm.