title: Splitting and joining in carbon nanotube/nanoribbon/nanotetrahedron growth.
abstract: We report a novel phenomenon for carbon nanotube growth that results in a new carbon nanotube morphology. A carbon nanotube grown via metal nanoparticle-catalyzed chemical vapor deposition splits into two flattened nanotubes during growth and the two flattened nanotubes merge to form a ring of carbon nanotube/nanoribbon. This novel process is revealed by transmission electron microscopy observations of the carbon nanostructures. We propose that the splitting-and-joining process involves only one metal catalyst nanoparticle and a self-folding mechanism that we have named the origami mechanism to explain the process and the formation of nanoribbons and nanotetrahedra.
authors.affiliation: Graduate School of Science, Osaka University, Toyonaka, Osaka 560-0043, Japan.
authors.forename: Takayuki
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Hasegawa
authors.forename: Hideo
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Kohno