Fluorescence spectroscopy of single-walled carbon nanotubes synthesized from alcohol

Is the Carbon Nanotube-Catalyst Interface Clean during Growth?

Revealing a "true" picture of the carbon nanotube (CNT) growth front at the catalyst surface is critical to understanding the mechanism of CNT growth. If the CNT-catalyst interface is clean or messy, which will greatly affect the mechanism of controlled CNT growth, has never been properly solved either experimentally or theoretically. Here, this issue by ab initial calculation-based kinetic analysis and classical molecular dynamic (MD) simulations is revisited. It is found that the appearance of carbon chains at the CNT-catalyst interfaces or the "messy" interfaces in MD simulations is a consequence of the very short simulation time, and a "clean" CNT-catalyst interface will emerge if the simulation time is close to that in real experiments. This study reveals that, during real CNT experimental growth, a "clean" CNT-catalyst interface with zigzag, armchair, and/or kink sites dominates the growth kinetics, and therefore, the controllable CNT growth by tuning the CNT-catalyst interface is feasible.

Synthesis, Sorting, and Applications of Single-Chirality Single-Walled Carbon Nanotubes

The synthesis of high-quality chirality-pure single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) is vital for their applications. It is of high importance to modernize the synthesis processes to decrease the synthesis temperature and improve the quality and yield of SWCNTs. This review is dedicated to the chirality-selective synthesis, sorting of SWCNTs, and applications of chirality-pure SWCNTs. The review begins with a description of growth mechanisms of carbon nanotubes. Then, we discuss the synthesis methods of semiconducting and metallic conductivity-type and single-chirality SWCNTs, such as the epitaxial growth method of SWCNT ("cloning") using nanocarbon seeds, the growth method using nanocarbon segments obtained by organic synthesis, and the catalyst-mediated chemical vapor deposition synthesis. Then, we discuss the separation methods of SWCNTs by conductivity type, such as electrophoresis (dielectrophoresis), density gradient ultracentrifugation (DGC), low-speed DGC, ultrahigh DGC, chromatography, two-phase separation, selective solubilization, and selective reaction methods and techniques for single-chirality separation of SWCNTs, including density gradient centrifugation, two-phase separation, and chromatography methods. Finally, the applications of separated SWCNTs, such as field-effect transistors (FETs), sensors, light emitters and photodetectors, transparent electrodes, photovoltaics (solar cells), batteries, bioimaging, and other applications, are presented.

Statistical Verification of Anomaly in Chiral Angle Distribution of Air-Suspended Carbon Nanotubes

Single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNT) have long attracted attention due to their distinct physical properties, depending on their chiral structures (chiralities). Clarifying their growth mechanism is important toward perfect chirality-controlled bulk synthesis. Although a correlation between the chirality distribution and the carbon atom configuration at an open tube edge has been predicted theoretically, lack of sufficient statistical data on metallic and semiconducting SWCNTs prohibited its verification. Here, we report statistical verification of the chirality distribution of 413 as-grown individual air-suspended SWCNTs with a length of over 20 μm using broadband Rayleigh spectroscopy. After excluding the impact of the difference in the number of possible SWCNT structures per chiral angle interval, the abundance profile with chiral angle exhibits an increasing trend with a distinct anomaly at a chiral angle of approximately 20°. These results are well explained considering the growth rate depending on armchair-shaped site configurations at the catalyst-nanotube interface.

Recent Advances in Structure Separation of Single-Wall Carbon Nanotubes and Their Application in Optics, Electronics, and Optoelectronics

Structural control of single-wall carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) with uniform properties is critical not only for their property modulation and functional design but also for applications in electronics, optics, and optoelectronics. To achieve this goal, various separation techniques have been developed in the past 20 years through which separation of high-purity semiconducting/metallic SWCNTs, single-chirality species, and even their enantiomers have been achieved. This progress has promoted the property modulation of SWCNTs and the development of SWCNT-based optoelectronic devices. Here, the recent advances in the structure separation of SWCNTs are reviewed, from metallic/semiconducting SWCNTs, to single-chirality species, and to enantiomers by several typical separation techniques and the application of the corresponding sorted SWCNTs. Based on the separation procedure, efficiency, and scalability, as well as, the separable SWCNT species, purity, and quantity, the advantages and disadvantages of various separation techniques are compared. Combined with the requirements of SWCNT application, the challenges, prospects, and development direction of structure separation are further discussed.

Versatile Types of Inorganic/Organic NIR-IIa/IIb Fluorophores: From Strategic Design toward Molecular Imaging and Theranostics

In vivo imaging in the second near-infrared window (NIR-II, 1000-1700 nm), which enables us to look deeply into living subjects, is producing marvelous opportunities for biomedical research and clinical applications. Very recently, there has been an upsurge of interdisciplinary studies focusing on developing versatile types of inorganic/organic fluorophores that can be used for noninvasive NIR-IIa/IIb imaging (NIR-IIa, 1300-1400 nm; NIR-IIb, 1500-1700 nm) with near-zero tissue autofluorescence and deeper tissue penetration. This review provides an overview of the reports published to date on the design, properties, molecular imaging, and theranostics of inorganic/organic NIR-IIa/IIb fluorophores. First, we summarize the design concepts of the up-to-date functional NIR-IIa/IIb biomaterials, in the order of single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs), quantum dots (QDs), rare-earth-doped nanoparticles (RENPs), and organic fluorophores (OFs). Then, these novel imaging modalities and versatile biomedical applications brought by these superior fluorescent properties are reviewed. Finally, challenges and perspectives for future clinical translation, aiming at boosting the clinical application progress of NIR-IIa and NIR-IIb imaging technology are highlighted.

Chirality Distributions for Semiconducting Single-Walled Carbon Nanotubes Determined by Photoluminescence Spectroscopy

To realize single-walled carbon nanotube (SWCNT) chiral selective growth, elucidating the mechanism of SWCNT chirality (n,m) selectivity is important. For this purpose, an accurate evaluation method for evaluating the chirality distribution of grown SWCNTs without post-growth processing or liquid-dispersion of SWCNTs is indispensable. Here, we used photoluminescence spectroscopy to directly measure the chirality distributions of individual semiconducting SWCNTs suspended on a pillar-patterned substrate. The number of chirality-assigned SWCNTs was up to 332 and 17 chirality types with the chiral angles ranging from 0° to 28.05° were detected. The growth yield of SWCNTs was confirmed to primarily depends on the chiral angle in accordance with the screw dislocation model. Furthermore, when higher-yield chiralities are selected, the chiral angle distribution with a peak corresponding to near-armchair SWCNTs is well fitted with a model that incorporates the thermodynamic effect at the SWCNT-catalyst interface into the kink growth-based kinetic model. Our quantitative and statistical data provide new insights into SWCNT growth mechanism as well as experimental confirmation of theoretical predictions.

Zeolite Nanosheets Stabilize Catalyst Particles to Promote the Growth of Thermodynamically Unfavorable, Small-Diameter Carbon Nanotubes

A challenge in the synthesis of single-wall carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) is the lack of control over the formation and evolution of catalyst nanoparticles and the lack of control over their size or chirality. Here, zeolite MFI nanosheets (MFI-Ns) are used to keep cobalt (Co) nanoparticles stable during prolonged annealing conditions. Environmental transmission electron microscopy (ETEM) shows that the MFI-Ns can influence the size and shape of nanoparticles via particle/support registry, which leads to the preferential docking of nanoparticles to four or fewer pores and to the regulation of the SWCNT synthesis products. The resulting SWCNT population exhibits a narrow diameter distribution and SWCNTs of nearly all chiral angles, including sub-nm zigzag (ZZ) and near-ZZ tubes. Theoretical simulations reveal that the growth of these unfavorable tubes from unsupported catalysts leads to the rapid encapsulation of catalyst nanoparticles bearing them; their presence in the growth products suggests that the MFI-Ns prevent nanoparticle encapsulation and prologue ZZ and near-ZZ SWCNT growth. These results thus present a path forward for controlling nanoparticle formation and evolution, for achieving size- and shape-selectivity at high temperature, and for controlling SWCNT synthesis.

Chirality Pure Carbon Nanotubes: Growth, Sorting, and Characterization

Single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) have been attracting tremendous attention owing to their structure (chirality) dependent outstanding properties, which endow them with great potential in a wide range of applications. The preparation of chirality-pure SWCNTs is not only a great scientific challenge but also a crucial requirement for many high-end applications. As such, research activities in this area over the last two decades have been very extensive. In this review, we summarize recent achievements and accumulated knowledge thus far and discuss future developments and remaining challenges from three aspects: controlled growth, postsynthesis sorting, and characterization techniques. In the growth part, we focus on the mechanism of chirality-controlled growth and catalyst design. In the sorting part, we organize and analyze existing literature based on sorting targets rather than methods. Since chirality assignment and quantification is essential in the study of selective preparation, we also include in the last part a comprehensive description and discussion of characterization techniques for SWCNTs. It is our view that even though progress made in this area is impressive, more efforts are still needed to develop both methodologies for preparing ultrapure (e.g., >99.99%) SWCNTs in large quantity and nondestructive fast characterization techniques with high spatial resolution for various nanotube samples.

Designing Catalysts for Chirality-Selective Synthesis of Single-Walled Carbon Nanotubes: Past Success and Future Opportunity

A major obstacle for the applications of single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWNTs) in electronic devices is their structural diversity, ending in SWNTs with diverse electrical properties. Catalytic chemical vapor deposition has shown great promise in directly synthesizing high-quality SWNTs with a high selectivity to specific chirality (n, m). During the growth process, the tube-catalyst interface plays crucial roles in regulating the SWNT nucleation thermodynamics and growth kinetics, ultimately governing the SWNT chirality distribution. Starting with the introduction of SWNT growth modes, this review seeks to extend the knowledge about chirality-selective synthesis by clarifying the energetically favored SWNT cap nucleation and the threshold step for SWNT growth, which describes how the tube-catalyst interface affects both the nucleus energy and the new carbon atom incorporation. Such understandings are subsequently applied to interpret the (n, m) specific growth achieved on a variety of templates, such as SWNT segments or predefined molecular seeds, transition metal (Fe, Co and Ni)-containing catalysts at low reaction temperatures, W-based alloy catalysts, and metal carbides at relatively high reaction temperatures. The up to date achievements on chirality-controlled synthesis of SWNTs is summarized and the remaining major challenges existing in the SWNT synthesis field are discussed.

Tuning bimetallic catalysts for a selective growth of SWCNTs

Recent advances in structural control during the synthesis of SWCNTs have in common the use of bimetallic nanoparticles as catalysts, despite the fact that their exact role is not fully understood. We therefore analyze the effect of the catalyst's chemical composition on the structure of the resulting SWCNTs by comparing three bimetallic catalysts (FeRu, CoRu and NiRu). A specific synthesis protocol is designed to impede the catalyst nanoparticle coalescence mechanisms and stabilize their diameter distributions throughout the growth. Owing to the ruthenium component which has a limited carbon solubility, tubes grow in tangential mode and their diameter is close to that of their seeding nanoparticles. By using the as-synthesized SWCNTs as a channel material infield effect transistors, we show how the chemical composition of the catalysts and temperature can be used as parameters to tune the diameter distribution and semiconducting-to-metallic ratio of SWCNT samples. Finally, a phenomenological model, based on the dependence of the carbon solubility as a function of catalyst nanoparticle size and nature of the alloying elements, is proposed to interpret the results.

Chiral-selective etching effects on carbon nanotube growth at edge carbon atoms

Chemical vapor deposition (CVD) utilizing metal cluster nanoparticle catalysts is commonly used to synthesize carbon nanotubes (CNT), with oxygen-containing species such as water or alcohol included in the feedstock for enhanced yield. However, the etching effect of these additives on the growth mechanism has rarely been investigated, despite evidence suggesting that etching potentially affects the chirality distribution of product CNTs. We used quantum chemical methods to study how water-based etchant radicals (OH and H) may enhance the chiral selectivity during CVD growth using CNT cap models. Chemical reactivities of the caps with the etchant radicals were evaluated using density functional theory (DFT). It was found that the reactivities on the cap edges correlate with the chirality of the caps. These results suggest that proper selection of etchant species can provide opportunities for selective chirality control of the product CNTs. © 2018 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Toward Small-Diameter Carbon Nanotubes Synthesized from Captured Carbon Dioxide: Critical Role of Catalyst Coarsening

Small-diameter carbon nanotubes (CNTs) often require increased sophistication and control in synthesis processes, but exhibit improved physical properties and greater economic value over their larger-diameter counterparts. Here, we study mechanisms controlling the electrochemical synthesis of CNTs from the capture and conversion of ambient CO₂ in molten salts and leverage this understanding to achieve the smallest-diameter CNTs ever reported in the literature from sustainable electrochemical synthesis routes, including some few-walled CNTs. Here, Fe catalyst layers are deposited at different thicknesses onto stainless steel to produce cathodes, and atomic layer deposition of Al₂O₃ is performed on Ni to produce a corrosion-resistant anode. Our findings indicate a correlation between the CNT diameter and Fe metal layer thickness following electrochemical catalyst reduction at the cathode-molten salt interface. Further, catalyst coarsening during long duration synthesis experiments leads to a 2× increase in average diameters from 3 to 60 min durations, with CNTs produced after 3 min exhibiting a tight diameter distribution centered near ∼10 nm. Energy consumption analysis for the conversion of CO₂ into CNTs demonstrates energy input costs much lower than the value of CNTs-a concept that strictly requires and motivates small-diameter CNTs-and is more favorable compared to other costly CO₂ conversion techniques that produce lower-value materials and products.

Growth modes and chiral selectivity of single-walled carbon nanotubes

Chemical vapor deposition synthesis of single-walled carbon nanotubes, using an Fe catalyst, and alternating methane and carbon monoxide as carbon feedstocks, leads to the reversible formation of junctions between tubes of different diameters. Combined with an atomistic modeling of the tube/catalyst interface, this shows that the ratio of diameters of the tube and its seeding particle, denoting the growth mode, depends on the carbon fraction inside the catalyst. With carbon monoxide, nanoparticles are strongly carbon enriched, and tend to dewet the tube, in a perpendicular growth mode. Cross-checking our results with the available reports from the literature of the last decade strongly suggests that these latter conditions should favor the near armchair chiral selectivity observed empirically.

Catalytic CVD synthesis of boron nitride and carbon nanomaterials - synergies between experiment and theory

Low-dimensional carbon and boron nitride nanomaterials - hexagonal boron nitride, graphene, boron nitride nanotubes and carbon nanotubes - remain at the forefront of advanced materials research. Catalytic chemical vapour deposition has become an invaluable technique for reliably and cost-effectively synthesising these materials. In this review, we will emphasise how a synergy between experimental and theoretical methods has enhanced the understanding and optimisation of this synthetic technique. This review examines recent advances in the application of CVD to synthesising boron nitride and carbon nanomaterials and highlights where, in many cases, molecular simulations and quantum chemistry have provided key insights complementary to experimental investigation. This synergy is particularly prominent in the field of carbon nanotube and graphene CVD synthesis, and we propose here it will be the key to future advances in optimisation of CVD synthesis of boron nitride nanomaterials, boron nitride - carbon composite materials, and other nanomaterials generally.

Intrinsic Chirality Origination in Carbon Nanotubes

Elucidating the origin of carbon nanotube chirality is key for realizing their untapped potential. Currently, prevalent theories suggest that catalyst structure originates chirality via an epitaxial relationship. Here we studied chirality abundances of carbon nanotubes grown on floating liquid Ga droplets, which excludes the influence of catalyst features, and compared them with abundances grown on solid Ru nanoparticles. Results of growth on liquid droplets bolsters the intrinsic preference of carbon nuclei toward certain chiralities. Specifically, the abundance of the (11,1)/χ = 4.31° tube can reach up to 95% relative to (9,4)/χ = 17.48°, although they have exactly the same diameter, (9.156 Å). However, the comparative abundances for the pair, (19,3)/χ = 7.2° and (17,6)/χ = 14.5°, with bigger diameter, (16.405 Å), fluctuate depending on synthesis temperature. The abundances of the same pairs of tubes grown on floating solid polyhedral Ru nanoparticles show completely different trends. Analysis of abundances in relation to nucleation probability, represented by a product of the Zeldovich factor and the deviation interval of a growing nuclei from equilibrium critical size, explain the findings. We suggest that the chirality in the nanotube in general is a result of interplay between intrinsic preference of carbon cluster and induction by catalyst structure. This finding can help to build the comprehensive theory of nanotube growth and offers a prospect for chirality-preferential synthesis of carbon nanotubes by the exploitation of liquid catalyst droplets.

Chirality-dependent growth of single-wall carbon nanotubes as revealed inside nano-test tubes

Growth dynamics of single-wall carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) have been studied with nickelocene as a precursor encapsulated in the interior of template SWCNTs. By means of multi-laser Raman spectroscopy, growth curves of nine different SWCNTs, (8,8), (12,3), (13,1), (9,6), (10,4), (11,2), (11,1), (9,3) and (9,2), have been determined upon in situ annealing at various temperatures. The data reveal that the nanotubes grow through fast and slow reaction pathways with high and low activation energies, respectively. While the activation energy of the slow growth is independent of the nanotube's chiral vector, that of the fast growth exhibits a monotonic increase as the tube diameter reduces from ∼1.1 down to 0.8 nm and no dependency on the chiral angle, which can be attributed to the size-dependent properties of catalyst clusters. The chirality dependent catalytic growth properties exploited in this study provide the basis for a large-scale synthesis of single-chiral vector SWCNTs.

Horizontally aligned carbon nanotube arrays: growth mechanism, controlled synthesis, characterization, properties and applications

This review summarizes the growth mechanism, controlled synthesis, characterization, properties and applications of horizontally aligned carbon nanotube arrays.

Surface Engineering of Nanoparticles to Create Synthetic Antibodies

Surface engineering of nanoparticles has recently emerged as a promising technique for synthetic molecular recognition of biological analytes. In particular, the use of synthetic heteropolymers adsorbed onto the surface of a nanoparticle can yield selective detection of a molecular target. Synthetic molecular recognition has unique advantages in leveraging the photostability, versatility, and exceptional chemical stability of nanomaterials. In particular, single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWNT) exhibit a large Stokes shift and near infrared emission for maximum biological sample transparency. Optical biosensors with high signal transduction and molecular specificity can be synthesized with amphiphilic heteropolymers grafted to SWNT, and discovered by high-throughput screening. Herein, we describe the development and the characterization of surface-engineered nanoparticles, or "synthetic antibodies," for protein detection.

Investigation of growth dynamics of carbon nanotubes

The synthesis of single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) with defined properties is required for both fundamental investigations and practical applications. The revealing and thorough understanding of the growth mechanism of SWCNTs is the key to the synthesis of nanotubes with required properties. This paper reviews the current status of the research on the investigation of growth dynamics of carbon nanotubes. The review starts with the consideration of the peculiarities of the growth mechanism of carbon nanotubes. The physical and chemical states of the catalyst during the nanotube growth are discussed. The chirality selective growth of nanotubes is described. The main part of the review is dedicated to the analysis and systematization of the reported results on the investigation of growth dynamics of nanotubes. The studies on the revealing of the dependence of the growth rate of nanotubes on the synthesis parameters are reviewed. The correlation between the lifetime of catalyst and growth rate of nanotubes is discussed. The reports on the calculation of the activation energy of the nanotube growth are summarized. Finally, the growth properties of inner tubes inside SWCNTs are considered.

The role of carbon precursor on carbon nanotube chirality in floating catalyst chemical vapour deposition

We have studied the influence of different carbon precursors (methane, ethanol and toluene) on the type, diameter and chiral angle distributions of carbon nanotubes (CNTs) grown with the floating catalyst technique in a horizontal gas-flow reactor. Using electron diffraction to study their atomic structures, we found that ethanol and toluene precursors gave high single-wall CNT yields (92% and 89% respectively), with narrow diameter distributions: 1.1 nm to 1.7 nm (ethanol); 1.3 nm to 2.1 nm (toluene), with a propensity for armchair-type chiral angles. In contrast, methane-grown CNTs gave high double-wall CNT yields (75%) with broader diameter populations: 1.2 to 4.6 nm (inner CNT) and 2.2 to 5.3 nm (outer CNT) with a more uniform spread of chiral angles, but weakly peaked around 15 to 20 degrees. These observations agree with known growth models. However, double-wall CNTs grown with toluene showed an unusually narrow interlayer spacing of 0.286 ± 0.003 nm with suggestions of large, 20° to 25°, differences between inner and outer CNT chiral angles. Methane gave a large interlayer spacing (0.385 ± 0.002 nm) with suggestions of small 5° to 10° inter-tube chirality correlations.

Nanoparticle-Templated Molecular Recognition Platforms for Detection of Biological Analytes

Molecular recognition of biological analytes with optical nanosensors provides both spatial and temporal biochemical information. A recently developed sensing platform exploits near-infrared fluorescent single-wall carbon nanotubes combined with electrostatically pinned heteropolymers to yield a synthetic molecular recognition technique that is maximally transparent through biological matter. This molecular recognition technique is known as corona phase molecular recognition (CoPhMoRe). In CoPhMoRe, the specificity of a folded polymer toward an analyte does not arise from a pre-existing polymer-analyte chemical affinity. Rather, specificity is conferred through conformational changes undergone by a polymer that is pinned to the surface of a nanoparticle in the presence of an analyte and the subsequent modifications in fluorescence readout of the nanoparticles. The protocols in this article describe a novel single-molecule microscopy tool (near-infrared fluorescence and total internal reflection fluorescence [nIRF TIRF] hybrid microscope) to visualize the CoPhMoRe recognition process, enabling a better understanding of synthetic molecular recognition. We describe this requisite microscope for simultaneous single-molecule visualization of optical molecular recognition and signal transduction. We elaborate on the general procedures for synthesizing and identifying single-walled carbon nanotube-based sensors that employ CoPhMoRe via two biologically relevant examples of single-molecule recognition for the hormone estradiol and the neurotransmitter dopamine. © 2016 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Current Progress in the Chemical Vapor Deposition of Type-Selected Horizontally Aligned Single-Walled Carbon Nanotubes

Exciting electrical properties of single-walled carbon nanotubes show promise as a future class of electronic materials, yet the manufacturing challenges remain significant. The key challenges are to determine fabrication approaches for complex and flexible arrangements of nanotube devices that are reliable, rapid, and reproducible. Realizing regular array structures is an important step toward this goal. Considerable efforts have and are being made in this vein, although the progress to date is somewhat modest. However, there are reasons to be optimistic. Positive steps of being able to control not only the spatial location and diameter of the tubes but also their electronic type (chiral control) are being made. Two primary approaches are being exploited to address the challenges. Tube deposition techniques, on the one hand, and direct growth of the desired tube at the target location are being explored. While this review covers both approaches, the emphasis is on recent developments in the direct fabrication of type-selected horizontally aligned single-walled carbon nanotubes by chemical vapor deposition.

Carbon : nickel nanocomposite templates - predefined stable catalysts for diameter-controlled growth of single-walled carbon nanotubes

Carbon : nickel (C : Ni) nanocomposite templates (NCTs) were used as catalyst precursors for diameter-controlled growth of single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) by chemical vapor deposition (CVD). Two NCT types of 2 nm thickness were prepared by ion beam co-sputtering without (type I) or with assisting Ar(+) ion irradiation (type II). NCT type I comprised Ni-rich nanoparticles (NPs) with defined diameter in an amorphous carbon matrix, while NCT type II was a homogenous C : Ni film. Based on the Raman spectra of more than 600 individual SWCNTs, the diameter distribution obtained from both types of NCT was determined. SWCNTs with a selective, monomodal diameter distribution are obtained from NCT type I. About 50% of the SWCNTs have a diameter of (1.36 ± 0.10) nm. In contrast to NCT type I, SWCNTs with a non-selective, relatively homogeneous diameter distribution from 0.80 to 1.40 nm covering 88% of all SWCNTs are obtained from NCT type II. From both catalyst templates predominantly separated as-grown SWCNTs are obtained. They are free of solvents or surfactants, exhibit a low degree of bundling and contain negligible amounts of MWCNTs. The study demonstrates the advantage of predefined catalysts for diameter-controlled SWCNT synthesis in comparison to in situ formed catalysts.

Chirality specific and spatially uniform synthesis of single-walled carbon nanotubes from a sputtered Co-W bimetallic catalyst

Synthesis of single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWNTs) with well-defined atomic arrangements has been widely recognized in the past few decades as the biggest challenge in the SWNT community, and has become a bottleneck for the application of SWNTs in nano-electronics. Here, we report a selective synthesis of (12, 6) SWNTs with an enrichment of 50%-70% by chemical vapor deposition (CVD) using sputtered Co-W as a catalyst. This is achieved under much milder reduction and growth conditions than those in the previous report using transition-metal molecule clusters as catalyst precursors (Nature, 2014, 510, 522). Meanwhile, in-plane transmission electron microscopy unambiguously identified an intermediate structure of Co6W6C, which is strongly associated with selective growth. However, most of the W atoms disappear after a 5 min CVD growth, which implies that anchoring W may be important in this puzzling Co-W system.

On the Stability and Abundance of Single Walled Carbon Nanotubes

Many nanotechnological applications, using single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWNTs), are only possible with a uniform product. Thus, direct control over the product during chemical vapor deposition (CVD) growth of SWNT is desirable, and much effort has been made towards the ultimate goal of chirality-controlled growth of SWNTs. We have used density functional theory (DFT) to compute the stability of SWNT fragments of all chiralities in the series representing the targeted products for such applications, which we compare to the chiralities of the actual CVD products from all properly analyzed experiments. From this comparison we find that in 84% of the cases the experimental product represents chiralities among the most stable SWNT fragments (within 0.2 eV) from the computations. Our analysis shows that the diameter of the SWNT product is governed by the well-known relation to size of the catalytic nanoparticles, and the specific chirality is normally determined by the product’s relative stability, suggesting thermodynamic control at the early stage of product formation. Based on our findings, we discuss the effect of other experimental parameters on the chirality of the product. Furthermore, we highlight the possibility to produce any tube chirality in the context of recent published work on seeded-controlled growth.

Anomalous Compression of D5(450)-C100 by Encapsulating La2C2 Cluster instead of La2

We demonstrate that a finite-length (10,0) carbon nanotube (CNT) with two fullerene caps, namely D5(450)-C100, is an ideal prototype to study the mechanical responses of small CNTs upon endohedral metal doping. Encapsulation of a large La2C2 cluster inside D5(450)-C100 induces a 5% axial compression of the cage, as compared with the structure of La2@D5(450)-C100. Detailed crystallographic analyses reveal quantitively the flexibility of the [10]cyclacene-sidewall segment and the rigidity of the pentagon-dominating caps for the first time. The internal C2-unit acts as a molecular spring that attracts the surrounding cage carbon atoms through strong interactions with the two moving lanthanum ions. This is the first crystallographic observation of the axial compression of CNTs caused by the internal stress, which enhances our knowledge about the structural deformation of novel carbon allotropes at the atomic level.

Quantum Chemical Simulation of Carbon Nanotube Nucleation on Al2O3 Catalysts via CH4 Chemical Vapor Deposition

We present quantum chemical simulations demonstrating how single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) form, or "nucleate", on the surface of Al2O3 nanoparticles during chemical vapor deposition (CVD) using CH4. SWCNT nucleation proceeds via the formation of extended polyyne chains that only interact with the catalyst surface at one or both ends. Consequently, SWCNT nucleation is not a surface-mediated process. We demonstrate that this unusual nucleation sequence is due to two factors. First, the π interaction between graphitic carbon and Al2O3 is extremely weak, such that graphitic carbon is expected to desorb at typical CVD temperatures. Second, hydrogen present at the catalyst surface actively passivates dangling carbon bonds, preventing a surface-mediated nucleation mechanism. The simulations reveal hydrogen's reactive chemical pathways during SWCNT nucleation and that the manner in which SWCNTs form on Al2O3 is fundamentally different from that observed using "traditional" transition metal catalysts.

Growing Zigzag (16,0) Carbon Nanotubes with Structure-Defined Catalysts

The growth of zigzag single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWNTs) is most challenging among all types of SWNTs, with the highest reported selectivity of ∼7%. Here we realized the dominant growth of (16,0) tubes at the abundance near ∼80% by using intermetallic W6Co7 catalysts containing plenty of (1 1 6) planes together with optimizing the growth conditions. These (1 1 6) planes may act as the structure templates for (16,0) SWNTs due to the geometrical match between the open end of the (16,0) tube and the atomic arrangements of the (1 1 6) planes in W6Co7. Using catalysts with designed structure as solid state template at suitable kinetic conditions offers a strategy for selective growth of zigzag SWNTs.

Atomistic simulation of the growth of defect-free carbon nanotubes

Atomistic simulation of defect-free single-walled carbon nanotube (SWCNT) growth is essential for the insightful understanding of the SWCNT's growth mechanism. Despite the extensive effort paid in the past two decades, the goal has not been completely achieved, due to the huge timescale discrepancy between atomistic simulation and the experimental synthesis of SWCNTs, as well as the lack of an accurate classical potential energy surface for large scale simulation. Here, we report atomistic simulations of defect-free SWCNT growth by using a new generation of carbon-metal potential and a hybrid method, in which a basin-hopping strategy is applied to facilitate the defect healing during the simulation. The simulations reveal a narrow diameter distribution and an even chiral angle distribution of the growth of SWCNTs from liquid catalyst, which is in agreement with most known experimental observations.

Insights into carbon nanotube and graphene formation mechanisms from molecular simulations: a review

The discovery of carbon nanotubes (CNTs) and graphene over the last two decades has heralded a new era in physics, chemistry and nanotechnology. During this time, intense efforts have been made towards understanding the atomic-scale mechanisms by which these remarkable nanostructures grow. Molecular simulations have made significant contributions in this regard; indeed, they are responsible for many of the key discoveries and advancements towards this goal. Here we review molecular simulations of CNT and graphene growth, and in doing so we highlight the many invaluable insights gained from molecular simulations into these complex nanoscale self-assembly processes. This review highlights an often-overlooked aspect of CNT and graphene formation-that the two processes, although seldom discussed in the same terms, are in fact remarkably similar. Both can be viewed as a 0D → 1D → 2D transformation, which converts carbon atoms (0D) to polyyne chains (1D) to a complete sp(2)-carbon network (2D). The difference in the final structure (CNT or graphene) is determined only by the curvature of the catalyst and the strength of the carbon-metal interaction. We conclude our review by summarizing the present shortcomings of CNT/graphene growth simulations, and future challenges to this important area.

Experimental tools to study molecular recognition within the nanoparticle corona

Advancements in optical nanosensor development have enabled the design of sensors using syntheticmolecular recognition elements through a recently developed method called Corona Phase MolecularRecognition (CoPhMoRe). The synthetic sensors resulting from these design principles are highly selective for specific analytes, and demonstrate remarkable stability for use under a variety of conditions. An essential element of nanosensor development hinges on the ability to understand the interface between nanoparticles and the associated corona phase surrounding the nanosensor, an environment outside of the range of traditional characterization tools, such as NMR. This review discusses the need for new strategies and instrumentation to study the nanoparticle corona, operating in both in vitro and in vivo environments. Approaches to instrumentation must have the capacity to concurrently monitor nanosensor operation and the molecular changes in the corona phase. A detailed overview of new tools for the understanding of CoPhMoRe mechanisms is provided for future applications.

Extraction of (9,8) single-walled carbon nanotubes by fluorene-based polymers

Selective polymer wrapping is a promising approach to obtain high-chiral-purity single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) needed in technical applications and scientific studies. We showed that among three fluorene-based polymers with different side-chain lengths and backbones, poly[(9,9-dihexylfluorenyl-2,7-diyl)-co-(9,10-anthracene)] (PFH-A) can selectively extract SWCNTs synthesized from the CoSO4 /SiO2 catalyst, which results in enrichment of 78.3 % (9,8) and 12.2 % (9,7) nanotubes among all semiconducting species. These high-chiral-purity SWCNTs may find potential applications in electronics, optoelectronics, and photovoltaics. Furthermore, molecular dynamics simulations suggest that the extraction selectivity of PFH-A relates to the bending and alignment of its alkyl chains and the twisting of its two aromatic backbone units (biphenyl and anthracene) relative to SWCNTs. The strong π-π interaction between polymers and SWCNTs would increase the extraction yield, but it is not beneficial for chiral selectivity. Our findings suggest that the matching between the curvature of SWCNTs and the flexibility of the polymer side chains and the aromatic backbone units is essential in designing novel polymers for selective extraction of (n,m) species.

Dielectric constant of polyhydric alcohol-DMSO mixture solution at the microwave frequency

Dielectric spectrum of polyhydric alcohol (1,2,3)-DMSO (dimethyl sulfoxide) mixtures, at full concentration, have been determined by the dielectric relaxation spectroscopy (DRS) method at frequencies from 20 MHz to 20 GHz at room temperature. The mixture behavior is described according to four Davidson-Cole terms whose evolution with composition is analyzed. The binding energies and hydrogen bond (HB) numbers between solute-solute and solvent-solute pairs are obtained from the permittivity using the Luzar model. The average HBs number associated with DMSO decreases with increasing mole fraction of DMSO. The binding energy of solute-solute (E11) and solvent-solute (E12) interaction decreases with the increased numbers of carbon atoms in the alcohols.

Aligned carbon nanotubes: from controlled synthesis to electronic applications

Single-wall carbon nanotubes (SWNTs) possess superior geometrical, electronic, chemical, thermal, and mechanical properties and are very attractive for applications in electronic devices and circuits. To make this a reality, the nanotube orientation, density, diameter, electronic property, and even chirality should be well controlled. This Feature article focuses on recent achievements researchers have made on the controlled growth of horizontally aligned SWNTs and SWNT arrays on substrates and their electronic applications. Principles and strategies to control the morphology, structure, and properties of SWNTs are reviewed in detail. Furthermore, electrical properties of field-effect transistors fabricated on both individual SWNTs and aligned SWNT arrays are discussed. State-of-the-art electronic devices and circuits based on aligned SWNTs and SWNT arrays are also highlighted.

Single walled carbon nanotube growth and chirality dependence on catalyst composition

Vertical arrays of single walled carbon nanotubes (VA-SWNTs) were grown using bi-metallic nanoparticle pro-catalysts. Iron oxide particles were doped with varying quantities of first row transition metals (Mn, Co, Ni, and Cu) for a comparative study of the growth of nanotubes. VA-CNT samples were verified using scanning electron microscopy, and characterized using resonance Raman spectroscopy. The length of the VA-CNTs is used as a measure of catalyst activity: the presence of dopants results in a change in the CNT length and length distribution. Cross correlation of the Raman spectra reveal variations in the distribution of radial breathing mode peaks according to the pro-catalyst composition. The formation of various chirality nanotubes is constant between repetitive runs with a particular catalyst, but may be controlled by the identity and concentration of the metal dopants within the iron catalyst. These results demonstrate that the composition of the catalyst is a major driving force toward type selective growth of nanotubes.

Chirality dependence of the absorption cross section of carbon nanotubes

The variation of the optical absorption of carbon nanotubes with their geometry has been a long-standing question at the heart of both metrological and applicative issues, in particular because optical spectroscopy is one of the primary tools for the assessment of the chiral species abundance of samples. Here, we tackle the chirality dependence of the optical absorption with an original method involving ultraefficient energy transfer in porphyrin-nanotube compounds that allows uniform photoexcitation of all chiral species. We measure the absolute absorption cross section of a wide range of semiconducting nanotubes at their S22 transition and show that it varies by up to a factor of 2.2 with the chiral angle, with type I nanotubes showing a larger absorption. In contrast, the luminescence quantum yield remains almost constant.

Chirality-dependent vapor-phase epitaxial growth and termination of single-wall carbon nanotubes

Structurally uniform and chirality-pure single-wall carbon nanotubes are highly desired for both fundamental study and many of their technological applications, such as electronics, optoelectronics, and biomedical imaging. Considerable efforts have been invested in the synthesis of nanotubes with defined chiralities by tuning the growth recipes but the approach has only limited success. Recently, we have shown that chirality-pure short nanotubes can be used as seeds for vapor-phase epitaxial cloning growth, opening up a new route toward chirality-controlled carbon nanotube synthesis. Nevertheless, the yield of vapor-phase epitaxial growth is rather limited at the present stage, due in large part to the lack of mechanistic understanding of the process. Here we report chirality-dependent growth kinetics and termination mechanism for the vapor-phase epitaxial growth of seven single-chirality nanotubes of (9, 1), (6, 5), (8, 3), (7, 6), (10, 2), (6, 6), and (7, 7), covering near zigzag, medium chiral angle, and near armchair semiconductors, as well as armchair metallic nanotubes. Our results reveal that the growth rates of nanotubes increase with their chiral angles while the active lifetimes of the growth hold opposite trend. Consequently, the chirality distribution of a nanotube ensemble is jointly determined by both growth rates and lifetimes. These results correlate nanotube structures and properties with their growth behaviors and deepen our understanding of chirality-controlled growth of nanotubes.

Excitonic absorption intensity of semiconducting and metallic carbon nanotubes

The knowledge of the intrinsic absorption intensity of each carbon nanotube is of crucial importance for the optical assignment of nanotube species and the estimation of their abundance in a sample. Based on a microscopic approach, we calculate excitonic absorption spectra for a variety of semiconducting and metallic nanotubes, revealing a clear diameter, chirality, and family dependence of the absorption intensity. In particular, we also study the appearance of excited excitonic transitions, which are shown to be well pronounced for semiconducting nanotubes, reaching intensities of up to 10% of the main transition. We find that nanotubes with large diameters show the most pronounced absorption intensities, confirming well the experimentally observed trend. Depending on the CNT family and transition, the absorption is enhanced or reduced with the chiral angle. This behavior reflects well the qualitative chirality dependence of the analytically derived optical matrix element.

Reversible diameter modulation of single-walled carbon nanotubes by acetonitrile-containing feedstock

Changing the carbon feedstock from pure ethanol to a 5 vol % mixture of acetonitrile in ethanol during the growth of vertically aligned single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWNTs) reduces the mean diameter of the emerging SWNTs from approximately 2 to 1 nm. We show this feedstock-dependent change is reversible and repeatable, as demonstrated by multilayered vertically aligned SWNT structures. The reversibility of this process and lack of necessity for catalyst modification provides insight into the role of nitrogen in reducing the SWNT diameter.

Chiral-selective CoSO4/SiO2 catalyst for (9,8) single-walled carbon nanotube growth

Electronic and optical properties of single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) correlate with their chiral structures. Many applications need chirally pure SWCNTs that current synthesis methods cannot produce. Here, we show a sulfate-promoted CoSO(4)/SiO(2) catalyst, which selectively grows large-diameter (9,8) nanotubes at 1.17 nm with 51.7% abundance among semiconducting tubes and 33.5% over all tube species. After reduction in H(2) at 540 °C, the catalyst containing 1 wt % Co has a carbon yield of 3.8 wt %, in which more than 90% is SWCNT. As compared to other Co catalysts used for SWCNT growth, the CoSO(4)/SiO(2) catalyst is unique with a narrow Co reduction window under H(2) centered at 470 °C, which can be attributed to the reduction of highly dispersed CoSO(4). X-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS) results suggested the formation of Co particles with an average size of 1.23 nm, which matches the diameter of (9,8) tubes. Density functional theory study indicated that the diameter of structurally stable pure Co particles is scattered, matching the most abundant chiral tubes, such as (6,5) and (9,8). Moreover, the formation of such large Co particles on the CoSO(4)/SiO(2) catalyst depends on sulfur in the catalyst. XAS results showed that sulfur content in the catalyst changes after catalyst reduction at different conditions, which correlates with the change in (n,m) selectivity observed. We proposed that the potential roles of sulfur could be limiting the aggregation of Co atoms and/or forming Co-S compounds, which enables the chiral selectivity toward (9,8) tubes. This work demonstrates that catalysts promoted with sulfur compounds have potentials to be further developed for chiral-selective growth of SWCNTs.

Optoelectronic properties of single-wall carbon nanotubes

Single-wall carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs), with their uniquely simple crystal structures and chirality-dependent electronic and vibrational states, provide an ideal laboratory for the exploration of novel 1D physics, as well as quantum engineered architectures for applications in optoelectronics. This article provides an overview of recent progress in optical studies of SWCNTs. In particular, recent progress in post-growth separation methods allows different species of SWCNTs to be sorted out in bulk quantities according to their diameters, chiralities, and electronic types, enabling studies of (n,m)-dependent properties using standard macroscopic characterization measurements. Here, a review is presented of recent optical studies of samples enriched in 'armchair' (n = m) species, which are truly metallic nanotubes but show excitonic interband absorption. Furthermore, it is shown that intense ultrashort optical pulses can induce ultrafast bandgap oscillations in SWCNTs, via the generation of coherent phonons, which in turn modulate the transmission of a delayed probe pulse. Combined with pulse-shaping techniques, coherent phonon spectroscopy provides a powerful method for studying exciton-phonon coupling in SWCNTs in a chirality-selective manner. Finally, some of the basic properties of highly aligned SWCNT films are highlighted, which are particularly well-suited for optoelectronic applications including terahertz polarizers with nearly perfect extinction ratios and broadband photodetectors.

Single-walled carbon nanotube growth from chiral carbon nanorings: prediction of chirality and diameter influence on growth rates

Catalyst-free, chirality-controlled growth of chiral and zigzag single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) from organic precursors is demonstrated using quantum chemical simulations. Growth of (4,3), (6,5), (6,1), (10,1) and (8,0) SWCNTs was induced by ethynyl radical (C(2)H) addition to organic precursors. These simulations show a strong dependence of the SWCNT growth rate on the chiral angle, θ. The SWCNT diameter however does not influence the SWCNT growth rate under these conditions. This agreement with a previously proposed screw-dislocation-like model of transition metal-catalyzed SWCNT growth rates [Ding, F.; Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. 2009, 106, 2506] indicates that the SWCNT growth rate is an intrinsic property of the SWCNT edge itself. Conversely, we predict that the rate of SWCNT growth via Diels-Alder cycloaddition of C(2)H(2) is strongly influenced by the diameter of the SWCNT. We therefore predict the existence of a maximum growth rate for an optimum diameter/chirality combination at a given C(2)H/C(2)H(2) ratio. We also find that the ability of a SWCNT to avoid defect formation during growth is an intrinsic quality of the SWCNT edge.