A comparison of different carbon filaments on the nanometer and atomic scales by scanning tunneling microscopy

Scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) has been employed as a tool to elucidate the structural differences between carbon nanotubes (CNTs) and carbon nanofibers (CNFs) at the nanometer and atomic scales. As opposed to the seamless, virtually defect-free structure of CNTs that was visualized by STM at both scales, CNFs displayed a fragmented graphitic conformation (nanographites), where the nanographitic domains were below 2–3 nm in lateral size. Thus, STM is proposed as a suitable technique to discriminate these two types of carbon nanostructures.