Probing Nanoscale Solids at Thermal Extremes

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G. E. Begtrup,^1,2 K. G. Ray,¹ B. M. Kessler,¹ T. D. Yuzvinsky,^1,2,3 H. Garcia,¹ and Alex Zettl^1,2,3
¹Department of Physics, University of California at Berkeley, 94720 Berkeley, California, USA
²Materials Sciences Division, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, 94720 Berkeley, California, USA
³Center of Integrated Nanomechanical Systems, 94720 Berkeley, California, USA

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Received 30 April 2007; revised 13 June 2007; published 11 October 2007

Wereport a novel nanoscale thermal platform compatible with extreme temperatureoperation and real-time high-resolution transmission electron microscopy. Applied to multiwallcarbon nanotubes, we find atomic-scale stability to 3200 K, demonstrating thatcarbon nanotubes are more robust than graphite or diamond. Evenat these thermal extremes, nanotubes maintain 10% of their peakthermal conductivity and support electrical current densities ~2×10⁸ A/cm². We alsoapply this platform to determine the diameter dependence of themelting temperature of gold nanocrystals down to three nanometers.

URL:	http://link.aps.org/doi/10.1103/PhysRevLett.99.155901
DOI:	10.1103/PhysRevLett.99.155901
PACS:	65.80.+n; 07.20.Ka; 81.07.-b 65.80.+n Thermal properties of small particles, nanocrystals, and nanotubes 07.20.Ka High-temperature instrumentation; pyrometers 81.07.-b Nanoscale materials and structures: fabrication and characterization YEAR: 2007