Morphological evolution of metal nanoparticles on surfaces of carbon nanotubes

We propose a model to elucidate the morphological evolution of metal nanoparticles grown on surfaces of carbon nanotubes. The model is based on the concept of bending-strain-induced self-organization of nanoparticles on curved surfaces. Criteria are derived within the continuum elasticity theory for predicting the size and shape of metal nanoparticles. Applications of these criteria to different metals show good agreement with experimental results. (C) 2005 American Institute of Physics.