Fractal carbon filaments grown on insulators under irradiation in an electron microscope
- 1 January 1994
- journal article
- research article
- Published by Taylor & Francis in Philosophical Magazine Letters
- Vol. 69 (1), 45-51
- https://doi.org/10.1080/09500839408242436
Abstract
A new phenomenon is reported which appears during the deposition of hydrocarbon molecules on electrically charged insulators in transmission electron microscopes. Micron-sized aggregates of ramified amorphous carbon filaments with fractal, densely branched or compact morphologies are observed. Heavy electron irradiation produces fullerene-like clusters. Under suitable conditions the aggregates show striking similarities to the shapes of many biological systems. The growth occurs in vacuum and is not diffusion limited. A simple Laplacian growth mechanism is considered which leads to the formation of fractal or non-fractal aggregates.Keywords
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