Single titanium crystals encapsulated in carbon nanocages obtained by laser vaporization of sponge titanium in benzene vapor

A technique, laser vaporization by ablating at a solid target in the vapor phase, is developed to produce encapsulated titanium nanocrystals. By vaporizing sponge titanium in benzene vapor, the single titanium crystals encapsulated in carbon nanocages have been synthesized in good yields. The sizes of the encapsulated crystals are around 5–15 nm and the numbers of the wrapped graphitic layers are on the order of 3–10 layers. Characteristic lattice spacings and angles observed by high-resolution transmission electron microscopy identify two phases of the nanocrystals inside the carbon onion cavities as α-Ti and β-Ti. The latter has never been stable below 850 °C until the experiment. The encapsulated titanium crystals adsorbed a large amount of hydrogen released in the synthesis.