Nanoparticle-templated carbon nanotube ring nucleus formation

Abstract
A mechanism for nanotube ring nucleus formation via the interaction of a carbonnanosheet with a nanoparticle is proposed based on consideration of both short-range covalent and long-range interactions. In nanosheet–nanoparticle interaction, the potential barrier for nanosheet folding into a nanoring segment caused by covalent bonds distortions can be significantly decreased by long-range interaction with the nanoparticle. This effect, alone or in combination with the kinetic energy of collision, is shown to be able to fold the nanosheet around the nanoparticle and lead to the eventual formation of a nanotube ring nucleus.