Iron catalyzed synthesis of hollow carbon nanocapsules by resistive heating

Hollow multiwalled carbon nanocapsules (CNCs) were synthesized from amorphous carbon whiskers using an iron catalyst by resistive heating inside a transmission electron microscope. The influence of the catalyst on the formation of the CNCs was investigated. We found that the iron catalyst decreased the outer diameter, the number of wall layers, and the sphericity of CNCs, compared with noncatalyzed synthesis by resistive heating.