Center for Functional Nanomaterials Seminar

Nanostructured materials have been the focus of an intensive research activity, due to their potential applications as electronic components, catalysts, sensors, biomarkers, and energy harvesters. Control over the morphology and structure of nanomaterials is essential for the development of future devices, since their physical properties were found to depend on their dimensions, crystallographic structure and growth direction. So far, several techniques need to be combined to investigate the structure-physical properties of nanostructures. X-ray diffraction can be used to characterize the diameter and chirality of carbon nanotubes. Raman spectroscopy has proved to be effective in the characterization of the structure, mechanical deformation, and thermal properties of nanostructures, as well as the presence of chemical dopants or ion implants. Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM) is a powerful and versatile technique to characterize the morphology, mechanical, and electronic properties from the micron scale down to the atomic scale. Results on the application of these techniques to the study of carbon nanotubes and ZnO nanobelts will be presented. The potential combination of Raman spectroscopy and AFM will be discussed.