Staining of Light Heteroatoms in Modified Carbon Nanomaterials for Direct Surveying by TEM and Related Techniques

Experiments on absorption of TmCl3 and Tm(NO3)3 from dry acetonitrile and aqueous solutions, respectively, were performed using carboxylated multiwalled carbon nanotubes with conic and cylindrical displacement of graphene layers. Using HAADF TEM imaging and EDX spectroscopy it was found that in the first case the chemisorption with complex compound formation with oxygen from carboxylated MWCNTs takes place while in the later this process is hampered by kinetic factor and side reactions with water. The data obtained are in good agreement with results of thermal-mass spectral and elemental CHNSO analysis. This particularity allows using transmission electron microscopy and related techniques for direct surveying of light atoms-containing groups on the surface of carbon materials. In the case of carboxylated cylindrical and conic MWCNTs it demonstrate that nanotubes in the second case are uniformly covered by functional groups while in the first – near the ends of tubes and the local defects along the surface.