title: Electron-Driven Metal Oxide Effusion and Graphene Gasification at Room Temperature.
abstract: Metal oxide nanoparticles decorating graphene have attracted abundant interest in the scientific community owing to their significant application in various areas such as batteries, gas sensors, and photocatalysis. In addition, metal and metal oxide nanoparticles are of great interest for the etching of graphene, for example, to form nanoribbons, through gasification reactions. Hence it is important to have a good understanding of how nanoparticles interact with graphene. In this work we examine, in situ, the behavior of CuO and ZnO nanoparticles on graphene at room temperature while irradiated by electrons in a transmission electron microscope. ZnO is shown to etch graphene through gasification. In the gasification reaction C from graphene is released as CO or CO2. We show that the reaction can occur at room temperature. Moreover, CuO and ZnO particles trapped within a graphene fold are shown to effuse out of a fold through small ruptures. The mass transport in the effusion process between the CuO and ZnO particles is fundamentally different. Mass transport for CuO occurs in an amorphous phase, while for ZnO mass transport occurs through the short-lived gliding of vacancies and dislocations. The work highlights the potential and wealth of electron beam driven chemical reactions of nanomaterials, even at room temperature.
authors.affiliation: College of Physics, Optoelectronics and Energy & Collaborative Innovation Center of Suzhou Nano Science and Technology, Soochow University , Suzhou 215006, China.|Centre of Polymer and Carbon Materials, Polish Academy of Sciences , M. Curie-Sklodowskiej 34, Zabrze 41-819, Poland.
authors.forename: Huy Q
authors.initials: HQ
authors.lastname: Ta
authors.affiliation: Centre of Polymer and Carbon Materials, Polish Academy of Sciences , M. Curie-Sklodowskiej 34, Zabrze 41-819, Poland.|IFW Dresden , P.O. Box D-01171 Dresden, Germany.
authors.forename: Alicja
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Bachmatiuk
authors.affiliation: Department of Materials, University of Oxford , Parks Road, Oxford OX1 3PH, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Jamie H
authors.initials: JH
authors.lastname: Warner
authors.affiliation: College of Physics, Optoelectronics and Energy & Collaborative Innovation Center of Suzhou Nano Science and Technology, Soochow University , Suzhou 215006, China.
authors.forename: Liang
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Zhao
authors.affiliation: College of Physics, Optoelectronics and Energy & Collaborative Innovation Center of Suzhou Nano Science and Technology, Soochow University , Suzhou 215006, China.
authors.forename: Yinghui
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Sun
authors.forename: Jiong
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Zhao
authors.affiliation: IFW Dresden , P.O. Box D-01171 Dresden, Germany.
authors.forename: Thomas
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Gemming
authors.affiliation: Centre of Polymer and Carbon Materials, Polish Academy of Sciences , M. Curie-Sklodowskiej 34, Zabrze 41-819, Poland.
authors.forename: Barbara
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Trzebicka
authors.affiliation: College of Physics, Optoelectronics and Energy & Collaborative Innovation Center of Suzhou Nano Science and Technology, Soochow University , Suzhou 215006, China.|Center for Nanochemistry, Beijing Science and Engineering Centre for Nanocarbons, Beijing National Laboratory for Molecular Sciences, College of Chemistry and Molecular Engineering, Peking University , Beijing 100871, China.
authors.forename: Zhongfan
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.forename: Didier
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Pribat
authors.affiliation: College of Physics, Optoelectronics and Energy & Collaborative Innovation Center of Suzhou Nano Science and Technology, Soochow University , Suzhou 215006, China.|Centre of Polymer and Carbon Materials, Polish Academy of Sciences , M. Curie-Sklodowskiej 34, Zabrze 41-819, Poland.|IFW Dresden , P.O. Box D-01171 Dresden, Germany.
authors.forename: Mark H
authors.initials: MH
authors.lastname: Rümmeli
keywords: effusion; gasification; graphene-like ZnO; in situ TEM; metal oxide nanoparticles