Combined HRTEM and peels analysis of nanoporous amorphous carbon

Both the mass density (1.37 kgm/m(3)) and sp(3)/sp(2) + sp(3) bonding fraction (0.15) were determined for an unusual nanoporous amorphous carbon consisting of curved single graphitic sheets. A combination of High-Resolution Transmission Electron Microscopy (HRTEM) and Parallel Electron Energy Loss Spectroscopy (PEELS) was used. The values of these two parameters provide important constraints for the determination of the structure of this relatively low density variety of nanoporous carbon. The results are relevant also in the search for negatively-curved Schwarzite-related carbon structures. New data are also presented for Highly-Oriented Pyrollytic Graphite (HOPG), Chemically Vapour Deposited (CVD) diamond, C-60, Glassy Carbon (GC) and Evaporated Amorphous Carbon (EAC); these are compared with the results for NAG. Kramers-Kronig Analysis (KKA) of the low-loss PEELS data shows that the band gaps of both NAC and EAC are collapsed relative to that of CVD diamond.