A Quantitative Electron Tomography Study of Ruthenium Particles on the Interior and Exterior Surfaces of Carbon Nanotubes
✍ Scribed by Dr. Heiner Friedrich; Shujing Guo; Dr. Petra E. de Jongh; Prof. Dr. Xiulian Pan; Prof. Dr. Xinhe Bao; Prof. Dr. Krijn P. de Jong
- Publisher
- Wiley (John Wiley & Sons)
- Year
- 2011
- Tongue
- English
- Weight
- 647 KB
- Volume
- 4
- Category
- Article
- ISSN
- 1864-5631
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✦ Synopsis
Abstract
The efficiency of filling carbon nanotubes (CNTs) by ultrasound‐assisted wet impregnation is quantified by electron tomography (ET). For image analysis, a method that combines edge detection with single‐value thresholding is proposed and validated. A high proportion (80 wt %) of the ruthenium was deposited inside the tube at an average particle size of 2–4 nm. Particles located on the outer surface of the CNT had a size of 1–3 nm. The local ruthenium loading measured by ET (3.2 wt %) closely matched the value from elemental analysis (3.5 wt %). In addition, a few 1 nm‐sized ruthenium particles were detected inside the carbon wall, which contained pores/cracks. Direct imaging and quantification is a powerful tool to understand and possibly model the unique properties of CNT‐based catalysts.