Structural characterization of single-walled carbon nanotube bundles by experiment and molecular simulation

A procedure, combining molecular simulation, Raman spectroscopy, and standard nitrogen adsorption, is developed for structural characterization of single-walled carbon nanotube (SWNT) samples. Grand canonical Monte Carlo simulations of nitrogen adsorption are performed on the external and internal adsorption sites of homogeneous arrays of SWNTs of diameters previously determined by Raman spectroscopy of the sample. The results show the importance of the peripheral grooves of a nanotube bundle at low relative pressure and the insensitivity of nanotube diameter toward adsorption on the external surface of the bundle at higher pressures. Simulations also reveal that samples containing thin nanotubes have less internal adsorption capacity that saturates at lower pressure than those comprising large diameter nanotubes. The fraction of open-ended nanotubes in a sample can be estimated by scaling the simulated internal adsorption inside nanotubes to obtain a near perfect fit between simulated and experimental isotherms. This procedure allows extrapolation of adsorption properties to conditions in which all nanotubes in the sample are open-ended.     

Shock wave-induced phase transition in RDX single crystals

The real-time, molecular-level response of oriented single crystals of hexahydro-1,3,5-trinitro-s-triazine (RDX) to shock compression was examined using Raman spectroscopy. Single crystals of [111], [210], or [100] orientation were shocked under stepwise loading to peak stresses from 3.0 to 5.5 GPa. Two types of measurements were performed: (i) high-resolution Raman spectroscopy to probe the material at peak stress and (ii) time-resolved Raman spectroscopy to monitor the evolution of molecular changes as the shock wave reverberated through the material. The frequency shift of the CH stretching modes under shock loading appeared to be similar for all three crystal orientations below 3.5 GPa. Significant spectral changes were observed in crystals shocked above 4.5 GPa. These changes were similar to those observed in static pressure measurements, indicating the occurrence of the alpha-gamma phase transition in shocked RDX crystals. No apparent orientation dependence in the molecular response of RDX to shock compression up to 5.5 GPa was observed. The phase transition had an incubation time of approximately 100 ns when RDX was shocked to 5.5 GPa peak stress. The observation of the alpha-gamma phase transition under shock wave loading is briefly discussed in connection with the onset of chemical decomposition in shocked RDX.     

High-pressure induced conformational and phase transformations of 1,2-dichloroethane probed by Raman spectroscopy

1,2-Dichloroethane (DCE) was loaded into diamond anvil cells and compressed up to 30 GPa at room temperature. Pressure-induced transformations were probed using Raman spectroscopy. At pressures below 0.6 GPa, fluid DCE exists in two conformations, gauche and trans in equilibrium, which is shifted to gauche on compression. DCE transforms to a solid phase with exclusive trans conformation upon further compression. All the characteristic Raman shifts remain constant in fluid phase and move to higher frequencies in the solid phase with increasing pressure. At about 4-5 GPa, DCE transforms from a possible disordered phase into a crystalline phase as evidenced by the observation of several lattice modes and peak narrowing. At 8-9 GPa, dramatic changes in Raman patterns of DCE were observed. The splitting of the C-C-Cl bending mode at 325 cm-1, together with the observation of inactive internal mode at 684 cm-1 as well as new lattice modes indicates another pressure-induced phase transformation. All Raman modes exhibit significant changes in pressure dependence at the transformation pressure. The new phase remains crystalline, but likely with a lower symmetry. The observed transformations are reversible in the entire pressure region upon decompression.     

Raman studies of hydrogen adsorbed on nanostructured porous materials

Raman spectroscopy was applied to study the adsorbed hydrogen phase in porous materials at room temperature and under cryogenic conditions. A comparison between the Raman spectra of H(2) molecules adsorbed on single walled carbon nanotubes and on a Cu-based metal-organic framework reveals that the interaction strength for the adsorption of molecular hydrogen is very similar in these materials. In both cases the small perturbation of the Raman spectrum of hydrogen indicates that adsorption takes place without any evident charge transfer between H(2) and the adsorbent. Additionally for single walled carbon nanotubes at least two types of adsorption sites could be identified by Raman spectroscopy.     

The adsorption kinetics of cadmium by three different types of carbon nanotubes

Oxidized nitrogen-doped multiwall carbon nanotubes (ox-N-MWCNTs), oxidized multiwall carbon nanotubes (ox-MWCNTs), and oxidized single-wall carbon nanotubes (ox-SWCNTs) were evaluated via batch adsorption kinetic experiments to determine the effect of nanotube morphology on the adsorption rate of cadmium. The nanotubes were characterized by HRTEM, XRD and Raman spectroscopy. Cadmium adsorption isotherms were determined at pH 6. Analyses of the kinetic data with an external mass transport model and an intraparticle diffusion model considered two cases: (1) single nanotubes suspended in aqueous solution and (2) agglomerates of nanotubes suspended in aqueous solution. The intraparticle diffusion model produced the best fit to the experimental data. However, only the diffusivity coefficients for single nanotubes suspended in solution were similar to literature values: about 4×10(-9), 1×10(-9) and 2.4×10(-11) cm(2)/s for ox-N-MWCNTs, ox-MWCNTs and ox-SWCNTs, respectively. The morphology of the various carbon nanotubes might determine cadmium diffusivity. The high amount of sidewall pores observed in the single-walled carbon nanotubes could limit cadmium diffusion and account for the slow diffusion rate of 180 min. Conversely, the short length, small surface area and bamboo-type morphology observed with nitrogen-doped multiwall carbon nanotubes may account for the relatively fast adsorption rate of 15 min as this morphology prevents cadmium diffusion through the internal tubular space of these nanotubes.     

Effects of Various Factors on the Modification of Carbon Nanotubes with Polyvinyl Alcohol in Supercritical CO2 and Their Application in Electrospun Fibers

Supercritical（SC） CO2 anti-solvent induced polymer epitaxy（SAIPE） method was used to help prepare nanohybrid carbon nanotubes（CNTs） wrapped with polyvinyl alcohol（PVA） nanocrystals.With the variation of a series of experimental conditions or peripheral effects,such as PVA concentration,CNTs concentration,and SC CO2 pressure,the optimal experimental variables for PVA-nanocrystals growing on CNTs have been found.The adsorption of polymer on CNTs via multiple weak molecular interactions has been studied by Fourier transform infrared（FTIR） spectroscopy and Raman spectroscopy.The mechanism about the formation of PVA nanocrystals on CNTs can be suggested through the experimental phenomena.These CNTs wrapped with PVA nanocrystals can be directly used as nanofillers to fabricate PVA composite fibers reinforced with CNTs by electrospinning.     

Evolution of the molecular structure of metallic and semiconducting carbon nanotubes under laser irradiation

The temperature dependence of the morphology of single wall carbon nanotubes (SWNTs) has been studied by Raman spectroscopy at different temperatures by changing the incident laser power. It is shown that a high power laser irradiation treatment of as-grown samples anneals the SWNTs, improving their structural order and perhaps also removing adsorbed gases. As a result, a significant increase in the Raman cross-section of the nanotubes upon laser irradiation can be observed, for both metallic or semiconducting tubes. The investigation of the power level dependence of the Raman spectra also reveals that smaller diameter nanotubes are burned off first, increasing the mean diameter of the nanotubes in the sample.     

Structural and chemical properties of the nitrogen-rich energetic material triaminoguanidinium 1-methyl-5-nitriminotetrazolate under pressure

The structural and chemical properties of the bi-molecular, hydrogen-bonded, nitrogen-rich energetic material triaminoguanidinium 1-methyl-5-nitriminotetrazolate C(3)H(12)N(12)O(2) (TAG-MNT) have been investigated at room pressure and under high pressure isothermal compression using powder x-ray diffraction and Raman and infrared spectroscopy. A stiffening of the equation of state and concomitant structural relaxation between 6 and 14 GPa are found to correlate with Raman mode disappearances, frequency discontinuities, and changes in the pressure dependence of modes. These observations manifest the occurrence of a reversible martensitic structural transformation to a new crystalline phase. The onset and vanishing of Fermi resonance in the nitrimine group correlate with the stiffening of the equation of state and phase transition, suggesting a possible connection between these phenomena. Beyond 15 GPa, pressure induces irreversible chemical reactions, culminating in the formation of a polymeric phase by 60 GPa.     

Changes in the structure of water deduced from the pressure dependence of the Raman OH frequency

We report on the Raman spectra of water under high temperature and pressure conditions and show a discontinuity in the pressure dependence of the OH stretching frequency. As pressure increases, the strength of hydrogen bonding increases rapidly in the pressure ranges up to 0.4+/-0.1 GPa at 25 degrees C, 1.0+/-0.1 GPa at 100 degrees C, and 1.3+/-0.1 GPa at 300 degrees C and slowly above these pressures. This finding clearly demonstrates the existence of discontinuities in the pressure response of the hydrogen bonds of water, which suggests a possible structural change under these conditions.     

High pressure study of Ru3(CO)12 by X-ray diffraction, Raman, and infrared spectroscopy

The single-crystal X-ray structure of Ru(3)(CO)(12) is reported at 8 pressures ranging from 1 atm (0.0 GPa) to 8.14(5) GPa. Although intramolecular bonding parameters remain relatively constant, intramolecular and intermolecular nonbonding contact distances decrease by an average of 4% and 15%, respectively. At 8.14 GPa, O...O, C...O, and C...C intermolecular distances as short as 2.54(4), 2.64(6), and 3.07(4) A, respectively, are observed, and the unit cell compresses to 75% of the ambient pressure volume. Raman and infrared spectroscopic measurements show that carbonyl stretching frequencies shift to higher wavenumber values by as much as 80 cm(-)(1), even though Ru-C and C-O distances stay roughly constant throughout the entire pressure range studied. Compression of the sample to above 18 GPa with laser radiation results in an irreversible transformation due to either decomposition or a total collapse of D(3)(h) molecular geometry accompanied by color darkening.     

Raman spectroscopic investigations of dl-serine and dl-valine under pressure

Raman spectroscopic studies of dl-serine and dl-valine under static high pressures have been carried out up to 8 and 7 GPa, respectively to understand the behaviour of hydrogen bonds in these compounds. The discontinuous changes in the pressure dependence of some of the Raman modes of dl-serine at 1.5 GPa are interpreted to be due to molecular rearrangements brought about by changes in the hydrogen bonding interactions. Our results of the pressure dependence of N–H?O librational modes in dl-valine at 3 GPa suggest changes in the nature of hydrogen bonding interactions across this pressure.     

Charge transfer from metallic single-walled carbon nanotube sensor arrays

This paper explores the possibility of using arrays of metallic carbon nanotubes as sensors. Unlike their semiconducting counterparts, single-walled carbon nanotube arrays or networks that are dominated by metallic conduction pathways have not been investigated for their environmental sensitivity. In this work, we demonstrate transduction of molecular adsorption via charge transfer through predominantly metallic single-walled carbon nanotubes. Raman spectroscopy and electric field dependent transport confirm that signal transduction takes place through primarily large diameter metallic nanotubes. This unique signal transduction mechanism might have implications for novel sensors. The scaling of the signal with array impedance is well described using an irreversible binding model developed previously. The arrays have several advantages including a simple, two-electrode fabrication, rapid regeneration, and a responsivity that scales predictably and linearly with the number of adsorption sites. An array-assisted hydrolysis of reactive analytes is found to regenerate the nanotube surface from hydrolyzable species which include important organophosphate nerve agents.     

Insights on charge transfer doping and intrinsic phonon line shape of carbon nanotubes by simple polymer adsorption

Doping of individual single-walled carbon nanotubes via noncovalent adsorption of polyethylenimine which converts p-type semiconducting nanotubes into n-type is examined by micro-Raman studies. Distinctively different responses are observed in metallic and in semiconducting nanotubes. Very little or no changes in the radial breathing and the disorder modes are observed upon polymer adsorption on semiconducting carbon nanotubes indicating noncovalent nature of this process. Tangential G-band spectral downshift of up to approximately 10 cm(-)(1) without line broadening is observed for semiconducting tubes suggesting similar magnitude of electron transfer as commonly observed in electrochemical doping with alkali metals. Strong diameter dependence is also observed and can be explained by thermal ionization of charge carriers with activation barrier that scales as the energy gap of the semiconducting nanotubes. In contrast, metallic nanotubes exhibit very different behavior with significant line broadening of the G-band and concurrent enhancement of the disorder mode. In certain cases, initially symmetric Lorentzian line shapes of the G-band features with narrow line widths similar to semiconducting tubes are converted to a broad, asymmetric Breit-Wigner-Fano line shape. Implications on the effects of electron injection and the local chemical environment on the intrinsic line shape of isolated carbon nanotubes are discussed.     

Emergence of a new feature in the high pressure-high temperature relaxation spectrum of tri-propylene glycol

We investigated dielectric relaxation of a tri-propylene glycol system under high compression. By increasing temperature and pressure we observed that a new relaxation process emerges from the low frequency tail of the structural peak. This new peak starts to be visible at about 0.5 GPa and becomes clearly evident at 1.7 GPa. However, this additional peak merges again with the structural one as the glass transition is approached, since it has a weaker temperature dependence. This finding enriches the relaxation scenario of molecular glass formers confirming that the application of very high hydrostatic pressure can favor the detection of new relaxation or otherwise unresolved processes in supercooled liquid systems.     

Shock-wave resistance of WS2 nanotubes

The shock-wave resistance of WS(2) nanotubes has been studied and compared to that of carbon nanotubes. Detailed structural features of post-shock samples were investigated using HRTEM, XRD, and Raman spectroscopy. WS(2) nanotubes are capable of withstanding shear stress caused by shock waves of up to 21 GPa, although some nanotube tips and nanoparticles containing multiple structural defects in the bending regions are destroyed. Small WS(2) species, consisting of only a few layers, are extruded from the nanotubes. Well-crystallized tube bodies were found to exhibit significant stability under shock, indicating high tensile strength. XRD and Raman analyses have confirmed this structural stability. Under similar shock conditions, WS(2) tubes are more stable than carbon nanotubes, the latter being transformed into a diamond phase. WS(2) nanotubes containing small concentrations of defects possess significantly higher mechanical strength, and, as a consequence, hollow WS(2) nanoparticles are expected to act as excellent lubricants under much higher loading than was previously thought.     

Raman spectroscopy on high-pressure fluids of molecular oxygen and nitrogen

High-pressure Raman scattering experiments of O₂ and N₂ were carried out at 296 K and at pressures up to 10 and 6 GPa, respectively, and the pressure dependence of vibrational spectra of O₂ was studied on the basis of molecular interactions in comparison with N₂. An appreciable contribution of the attractive interaction to the vibrational frequency was observed for fluid O₂. The linewidth of the spectra for fluid O₂ showed a sharp increase with increasing pressure, and the fluid–solid transition was observed at 5.9 GPa with a sudden drop of the linewidth.     

Chirality- and diameter-dependent reactivity of NO2 on carbon nanotube walls

We report the density-functional calculations of NO2 adsorption on single-walled carbon nanotube walls. A single molecular adsorption was endothermic with an activation barrier, but a collective adsorption with several molecules became exothermic without an activation barrier. We find that NO2 adsorption is strongly electronic structure- and strain-dependent. The NO2 adsorption on metallic nanotubes was energetically more favorable than that on semiconducting nanotubes and furthermore the adsorption became less stable with increasing diameters of nanotubes. The adsorption barrier height shows similar dependence on the electronic structure and diameter to the adsorption energy. Our theoretical model can be a good guideline for the separation of nanotubes by electronic structures using various adsorbates.     

n-pentanol at high pressures: rotational isomerism in the liquid phase and the liquid-solid phase transition

The vibrational spectrum of liquids constituted of chain molecules is difficult to analyze because it may have contributions of different rotational isomers. In turn, with a proper vibrational assignment, this feature allows us to extract information about the effect of temperature or pressure on the molecular conformations in the liquid state. In this regard, the information on the vibrational spectrum in the solid phase greatly simplifies the vibrational analysis of the different rotational conformers existing in the liquid, as the molecules usually present all-trans conformations in the crystalline state. Here we report room-temperature Raman experiments on n-pentanol performed in a sapphire-anvil cell up to 3 GPa. A detailed analysis of the liquid-solid phase transition occurring at 1.3 GPa is provided. The analysis of the Raman spectrum in the solid phase allows the identification of the bands due to the different rotational isomers present in the liquid. The analysis of the spectral region corresponding to skeletal vibrations of the carbon chain (800-1200 cm(-1)) indicates that gauche conformers are promoted by the application of pressure. The analysis of the intensity ratio of those bands assigned to trans and gauge conformations is used to calculate the change in molecular volume ascribed to the trans-gauge isomerization process. We find a value similar to that found in n-alkanes, i.e., -0.88 cm(3) mol(-1). In addition, we find indication that pressure varies the proportions of the different gauge conformers. Thus, it appears that the GTTt to TGTt transition in the carbon chain is favored at high pressures. As expected, a smaller change in the molecular volume accompanies this conformation change.     

气凝胶催化剂上甲烷裂解制备的碳纳米管结构特征

采用XRD、TGA、SEM、TEM、 Raman光谱等多种表征手段,考察了Al2O3气凝胶催化剂上甲烷裂解生长的碳纳米管的结构特征.制得的碳纳米管形态单一,为管径均匀、管壁光滑的中空纳米管,平均直径在10～20 nm.碳纳米管的比表面积较大,具有较强的抗氧化能力,其结构的长程有序度较石墨低.由碳纳米管的Raman光谱分析可知,碳纳米管存在碳层缺陷和无定形碳.当反应温度升高或甲烷浓度下降时,碳纳米管石墨化程度逐渐提高.     

High pressure Raman scattering study on the phase stability of LuVO4

High pressure Raman spectroscopic investigations have been carried out on rare earth orthovanadate LuVO₄ upto 26 GPa. Changes in the Raman spectrum around 8 GPa across the reported zircon to scheelite transition are investigated in detail and compared with those observed in other vanadates. Co-existence of the zircon and scheelite phases is observed over a pressure range of about 8-13 GPa. The zircon to scheelite transition is irreversible upon pressure release. Subtle changes are observed in the Raman spectrum above 16 GPa which could be related to scheelite ↔ fergusonite transition. Pressure dependencies of the Raman active modes in the zircon and the scheelite phases are reported.