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Direct Imaging of Atomic Permeation Through a Vacancy Defect in the Carbon Lattice
Author(s) -
Cao Kecheng,
Skowron Stephen T.,
Stoppiello Craig T.,
Biskupek Johannes,
Khlobystov Andrei N.,
Kaiser Ute
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
angewandte chemie
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 1521-3757
pISSN - 0044-8249
DOI - 10.1002/ange.202010630
Subject(s) - carbon nanotube , permeation , vacancy defect , dangling bond , chemical physics , materials science , graphene , nanoparticle , density functional theory , nanotechnology , molecular dynamics , porous medium , atom (system on chip) , membrane , porosity , computational chemistry , chemistry , crystallography , composite material , silicon , optoelectronics , biochemistry , computer science , embedded system
Porous graphene has shown promise as a new generation of selective membrane for sieving atoms, ions and molecules. However, the atomistic mechanisms of permeation through defects in the graphenic lattice are still unclear and remain unobserved in action, at the atomic level. Here, the direct observation of palladium atoms from a nanoparticle passing through a defect in a single‐walled carbon nanotube one‐by‐one has been achieved with atomic resolution in real time, revealing key stages of the atomic permeation. Bonding between the moving atom and dangling bonds around the orifice, immediately before and after passing through the subnano‐pore, plays an important role in the process. Curvature of the graphenic lattice crucially defines the direction of permeation from concave to convex side due to a difference in metal‐carbon bonding at the curved surfaces as confirmed by density functional theory calculations, demonstrating the potential of porous carbon nanotubes for atom sieving.