Morphology and microstructure of twisting nano-ribbons prepared using sputter-coated Fe-base alloy catalysts on glass substrates

Twisting carbon nano-ribbons or carbon nanocoils with a helical nanostructure was synthesized with a high purity by the catalytic pyrolysis of acetylene at 600-700 °C using Fe-base alloy films as a catalyst sputter coated on the glass substrates. FE-SEM and HR-TEM were applied to characterize the carbon conformation. The helical nanostructure was composed of one flat ribbon with a width of 100-200 nm, twisting in a pitch of about 150 nm. The nanostructure analysis revealed that this carbon conformation was of slightly graphitic crystallinity.