Harris Peter J F
Centre for Advanced Microscopy, J J Thomson Physical Laboratory, University of Reading, Whiteknights, Reading RG6 6AF, UK.
J Phys Condens Matter. 2009 Sep 2;21(35):355009. doi: 10.1088/0953-8984/21/35/355009. Epub 2009 Aug 10.
A new class of carbon structure is reported, which consists of microscale graphitic shells bounded by curved and faceted planes containing two to five layers. These structures were originally found in a commercial graphite produced by the Acheson process, followed by a purification treatment. The particles, which could be several hundreds of nanometres in size, were frequently decorated with nanoscale carbon particles, or short nanotubes. In some cases, nanotubes were found to be seamlessly connected to the thin shells, indicating that the formation of the shells and that of the nanotubes are intimately connected. The structures are believed to form during a purification process which involves passing an electric current through the graphite in the presence of a reactive gas. In support of this, it is shown that similar particles can be produced in a standard carbon arc apparatus. With their extremely thin graphene walls and high surface areas, the new structures may have a range of useful properties.
报道了一类新型碳结构，其由微米级石墨壳组成，这些壳由包含两到五层的弯曲且有小平面的平面界定。这些结构最初在通过艾奇逊法生产并经过纯化处理的商用石墨中被发现。这些颗粒大小可达数百纳米，表面经常装饰有纳米级碳颗粒或短纳米管。在某些情况下，发现纳米管与薄壳无缝连接，这表明壳的形成与纳米管的形成紧密相关。据信这些结构是在纯化过程中形成的，该过程涉及在反应性气体存在下使电流通过石墨。作为对此的支持，研究表明在标准碳弧装置中可以产生类似的颗粒。由于其极薄的石墨烯壁和高表面积，这些新结构可能具有一系列有用的特性。
