Plasma dynamics in graphite and SWNT probed by inelastic electron and X-ray scattering

Graphite as well as bundled and freestanding single‐walled carbon nanotubes (SWNTs) are allotropes of sp2 carbon. However their dynamical structure factor S (q, w) differs greatly because of the very different dimensionalities and geometries. Here S (q, w) is experimentally accessed by means of inelastic X‐ray and electron scattering. In our combined approach we utilize the equivalency and complementarity of the two techniques to access the dispersion relation of electronic inter‐band transitions across the entire Brillouin zone. The extended range plasmon dispersions provide direct insight into the imprints of macroscopic screening and low‐dimensional confinement on plasmons in SWNTs (© 2010 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)