  In order to understand the first stages of the nucleation of carbon nanotubes
in catalytic processes, we present a tight-binding Monte Carlo study of the
stability and cohesive mechanisms of different carbon structures deposited on
nickel (100) surfaces. Depending on the geometry, we obtain contrasted results.
On the one hand, the analysis of the local energy distributions of flat carbon
sheets, demonstrate that dangling bonds remain unsaturated in spite of the
presence of the metallic catalyst. Their adhesion results from the energy gain
of the surface Ni atoms located below the carbon nanostructure. On the other
hand, carbon caps are stabilized by the presence of carbon atoms occupying the
hollow sites of the fcc nickel structure suggesting the saturation of the
dangling bonds.
