Animated sequence of snapshots from a MD simulation of the ejection of carbon nanotubes in MAPLE

Animated GIF Image

MAPLE target is loaded with 44 nm long carbon nanotubes at concentration of 8 wt.%, laser fluence is 2.3 times above the ablation threshold
nanotubes are shown as red cylinders, matrix molecules are shown as small gray dots

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This animation shows the ejection of carbon nanotubes from a MAPLE target where the nanotubes are randomly distributed and oriented parallel to the surface of the target. Laser irradiation results in the explosive boiling of the overheated matrix, the nanotubes are entrained into the expanding matrix plume and are lifted off from the target.

L. V. Zhigilei, A. N. Volkov, E. Leveugle, and M. Tabetah, The effect of the target structure and composition on the ejection and transport of polymer molecules and carbon nanotubes in matrix-assisted pulsed laser evaporation, Appl. Phys. A 105, 529-546, 2011.
Full Text: PDF (7.6 MB), doi:10.1007/s00339-011-6595-6

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