The encapsulation and in situ rearrangement of polycrystalline SnO inside carbon nanotubes

Polycrystalline SnO has been deposited inside opened carbon nanotubes via a pH-controlled precipitation process. The encapsulated material was investigated via powder X-ray diffraction, HRTEM and EDX in a FEGTEM incorporating a 0.7 nm electron probe. The encapsulated crystallites were spherical or ellipsoidal in shape and varied between 2 and 6 nm in diameter. In general the crystallites packed evenly along the length of the internal cavities of the nanotubes. Rearrangements of individual crystallites were induced in both the HRTEM and FEGTEM during normal observation and took place over several minutes. Small movements and reorientations were observed for individual crystallites inside the nanotube cavities.