Cutting and sharpening carbon nanotubes using a carbon nanotube ‘nanoknife’
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On a Kleindiek MM3A, a short carbon nanotube became a ‘nanoknife’ that slices and sharpens other nanotubes by Joule heating in the SEM.
A short carbon nanotube glued to a metal tip becomes a nanoknife that precisely cuts and sharpens other nanotubes and nanowires, the cutting driven by local Joule-heating vaporisation of carbon. Mounted and operated with an MM3A nanoprobe in the SEM, the technique gives fine control over nanotube length and shape and can be used to construct more complex nanotube structures.
