Electronic structure of Pd nanoparticles on carbon nanotubes

A. Felten, J. Ghijsen, J.-J. Pireaux, Wolfgang Drube, Robert L. Johnson, Duoduo Liang, Michel Hecq, Gustaaf Van Tendeloo, Carla Bittencourt

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

The effect of the oxygen plasma treatment on the electronic states of multi-wall carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) is analyzed by X-ray photoemission measurements (XPS) and UPS, both using synchrotron radiation. It is found that the plasma treatment effectively grafts oxygen at the CNT-surface. Thereafter, the interaction between evaporated Pd and pristine or oxygen plasma-treated MWCNTs is investigated. Pd is found to nucleate at defective sites, whether initially present or introduced by oxygen plasma treatment. The plasma treatment induced a uniform dispersion of Pd clusters at the CNT-surface. The absence of additional features in the Pd 3d and C 1s core levels spectra testifies that no Pd-C bond is formed. The shift of the Pd 3d core level towards high-binding energy for the smallest clusters is attributed to the Coulomb energy of the charged final state.
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)74-79
Number of pages6
JournalMicron
Volume40
Issue number1
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 1 Jan 2009

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