Raman light scattering and electron microscopy of nanocomposites with the metal core-carbon shell structure

The structural state of carbon in nanocomposites that are based on metals (Fe, Ni, Co, and Ag) encapsulated in carbon and produced by the gas-phase synthesis has been investigated using Raman spectroscopy and high-resolution transmission electron microscopy. The average diameter of particles of the initial nanocomposites after the gas-phase synthesis, including the carbon shell, is less than 15 nm and can vary as a function of the conditions and regimes used for their preparation. The shell of the initial nanocomposites, irrespectively of the metal core type, consists of carbon fragments in the form of curved layers with sizes of less than 10 nm in the lateral direction. In the initial nanocomposites, there is no periodicity in the packing of carbon layers in the radial and lateral directions. The structure of the coating is assumed to be similar to the glassy carbon structure characterized by a curvature of carbon layers in different directions, which requires that, in addition to conventional hexagonal cells, the layers should contain pentagonal and heptagonal cells. Heat treatment of the initial nanocomposites Fe@C and Ni@C in butane (700°C, 60 min) not only significantly increases the thickness of the carbon coating but also increases the degree of ordering of curved carbon fragments in the lateral and radial directions. In the composites with Fe, Ni, and Co, along with this form of carbon, semiconducting nanotubes with a diameter of 1.3–1.5 nm are also formed. The composites with silver nanoparticles exhibit the effect of time-fluctuating giant enhancement of the Raman scattering intensity.