TY - JOUR AU - Golberg, Dmitri AU - Costa, Pedro M. F. J. AU - Mitome, Masanori AU - Bando, Yoshio PY - 2008 TI - Nanotubes in a Gradient Electric Field as Revealed by STM–TEM Technique JO - Nano Research SN - 1998-0124 SP - 166 EP - 175 VL - 1 IS - 2 AB - We have investigated the behavior of two nanotube systems, carbon and boron nitride, under controlled applied voltages in a high-resolution transmission electron microscope (TEM) equipped with a scanning tunneling microscope (STM) unit. Individual nanotubes (or thin bundles) were positioned between a piezo-movable gold electrode and a biased (up to ±140 V) STM tip inside the pole-piece of the microscope. The structures studied include double- and multi-walled carbon nanotubes (the latter having diverse morphologies due to the various synthetic procedures utilized), few-layered boron nitride nanotube bundles and multi-walled boron nitride nanotubes (with or without functionalized surfaces). The electrical breakdown, physical failure, and electrostatic interactions are documented for each system. UR - https://doi.org/10.1007/s12274-008-8010-y DO - 10.1007/s12274-008-8010-y