Overview: Proposed SWNT Formation Mechanisms
* A. Thess, R. Lee, P. Nikolaev, H. Dai, P. Petit, J. Robert, C. Xu, Y. H. Lee, S. G. Kim, A. G. Rinzler, D. T. Colbert, G. E. Scuseria, D. Tomanek, J. E. Fischer, R. E. Smalley, Science 273, 483 (1996); Y. H. Lee, S. G. Kim, D. Tomanek, Phys. Rev. Lett. 78, 2393 (1997).
** J. Gavillet, A. Loiseau, C. Journet, F. Willaime, F. Ducatselle, and J.-C. Charlier, Phys. Rev. Lett. 87, 275504 (2001)
*** S. Huang, M. Woodson, R. Smalley, J. Liu, Nano Lett.. 4(6), 1025 (2004)
vPre-1998: Scooter model*
v
v
v
vPost-1998 (Yudasaka metal-particle,VLS)
vBase/Root growth
v    model**
v
vTip growth model--> kite model***
Problem: No experimental method is fast enough to trace these processes