Publications

Engineering molecular chains in carbon nanotubes

Author(s)
T.W. Chamberlain, Rudolf Pfeiffer, Jonathan Howells, Herwig Peterlik, Hans Kuzmany, Bernhard Kräutler, Tatjana Da Ros, Manuel Melle-Franco, Francesco Zerbetto, Dragana Milic, Andrei N. Khlobystov
Abstract

A range of mono- and bis-functionalised fullerenes have been synthesised and inserted into single-walled carbon nanotubes. The effect of the size and shape of the functional groups of the fullerenes on the resultant 1D arrays formed within the nanotubes was investigated by high resolution transmission electron microscopy and X-ray diffraction. The addition of non-planar, sterically bulky chains to the fullerene cage results in highly ordered 1D structures in which the fullerenes are evenly spaced along the internal nanotube cavity. Theoretical calculations reveal that the functional groups interact with neighbouring fullerene cages to space the fullerenes evenly within the confines of the nanotube. The addition of two functional groups to opposite sides of the fullerene cages results in a further increase in the separation of the fullerene cages within the nanotubes at the cost of lower nanotube filling rates.

Organisation(s)
Dynamics of Condensed Systems
External organisation(s)
University of Nottingham, Leopold-Franzens-Universität Innsbruck, Università degli Studi di Trieste, University of Bologna, University of Belgrade
Journal
Nanoscale
Volume
4
Pages
7540-7548
No. of pages
9
ISSN
2040-3364
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1039/c2nr32571c
Publication date
2012
Peer reviewed
Yes
Austrian Fields of Science 2012
103009 Solid state physics, 103015 Condensed matter, 103018 Materials physics
Portal url
https://ucrisportal.univie.ac.at/en/publications/engineering-molecular-chains-in-carbon-nanotubes(b29723cd-b7dc-4c20-9232-d270f9cf3300).html