Probing nanoscale solids at thermal extremes.
We report a novel nanoscale thermal platform compatible with extreme temperature operation and real-time high-resolution transmission electron microscopy. Applied to multiwall carbon nanotubes, we find atomic-scale stability to 3200 K, demonstrating that carbon nanotubes are more robust than graphite or diamond. Even at these thermal extremes, nanotubes maintain 10% of their peak thermal conductivity and support electrical current densities approximately 2 x 10{8} A/cm{2}. We also apply this platform to determine the diameter dependence of the melting temperature of gold nanocrystals down to three nanometers.
Begtrup
G E
GE
Department of Physics, University of California at Berkeley, Berkeley, California 94720, USA.
Ray
K G
KG
Kessler
B M
BM
Yuzvinsky
T D
TD
Garcia
H
H
Zettl
Alex
A