Is the intrinsic thermoelectric power of carbon nanotubes positive?

The thermoelectric power (TEP) of single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWNTs) is extremely sensitive to gas exposure history. Samples exposed to air or oxygen have an always positive TEP, suggestive of holelike carriers. However, at fixed temperature the TEP crosses zero and becomes progressively more negative as the SWNTs are stripped of oxygen. The time constant for oxygen adsorption/desorption is strongly temperature dependent and ranges from seconds to many days, leading to apparently "variable" TEP for a given sample at a given temperature. The saturated TEP can be accounted for within a model of strong oxygen doping of the semiconducting nanotubes.     

Time-resolved fluorescence of carbon nanotubes and its implication for radiative lifetimes

The temporal evolution of fluorescence from isolated single-wall carbon nanotubes (SWNTs) has been investigated using optical Kerr gating. The fluorescence emission is found to decay on a time scale of 10 ps. This fast relaxation arises from nonradiative processes, the existence of which explains the relatively low observed fluorescence efficiency in isolated SWNTs. From the measured decay rate and a determination of fluorescence quantum efficiency, we deduce a radiative lifetime of 110 ns.     

Mesoscopic thermal and thermoelectric measurements of individual carbon nanotubes

We discuss the mesoscopic experimental measurements of electron energy dissipation, phonon thermal transport, and thermoelectric phenomena in individual carbon nanotubes. The temperature distributions in electrically heated individual multiwalled carbon nanotubes have been measured with a scanning thermal microscope. The temperature profiles along the tube axis in nanotubes indicate the bulk dissipation of electronic energy to phonons. In addition, thermal conductivity of an individual multiwalled nanotube has been measured using a microfabricated suspended device. The observed thermal conductivity is two orders of magnitude higher than the estimation from previous experiments that used macroscopic mat samples. Finally, we present thermoelectric power (TEP) of individual single walled carbon nanotubes using a novel mesoscopic device. A strong modulation of TEP as a function of the gate electrode was observed.     

A detailed Raman study on thin single-wall carbon nanotubes prepared by the HiPCO process

The Raman spectrum of single wall carbon nanotubes (SWNTs) prepared by high pressure CO decomposition (HiPCO process) has been recorded at nine excitation laser energies ranging from 1.83 eV to 2.71 eV. The characteristic nanotubes features: G band, D band and radial breathing mode (RBM) have been analyzed and compared to those of an arc discharge SWNT material of similar diameter. A strong Breit-Wigner-Fano type (metallic) contribution to the G band was found in the spectra measured with green lasers, while spectra measured with red lasers indicate resonances of semiconducting SWNTs. Analysis of the energy dependence of the position of the D band revealed sinusoid oscillations superimposed on a linear trend. The validity of full DOS calculations for HiPCO materials has been confirmed by a match found between the estimated spectral contribution of metallic SWNTs as calculated from the components of the measured G band and as predicted by the (n, m) indexes of the major scatterers of DOS simulations. The RBM region of the HiPCO spectrum is more complex than usually observed for SWNTs. The analysis performed with a Gaussian distribution and improved fitting parameters leads to a mean diameter and variance of 1.05 nm and 0.15 nm, respectively. A bimodal Gaussian distribution had little influence on the error sum but reduced the standard error slightly. The major spectral features of the RBM could be interpreted using available resonance Raman theory. Received 5 February 2002 / Received in final form 3 April 2002 Published online 19 July 2002     

Thermoelectric power of antiferromagnetic RIn3 compounds

The thermoelectric power (TEP) has been measured from 2.2 to 300 K for antiferromagnetic compounds, CeIn₃, NdIn₃, SmIn₃, GdIn₃ and (Ce_1−xLa_x)In₃ with x = 0.1 and 0.2. The effects of the antiferromagnetic order were observed on the TEP of these compounds below T_N. The observations are explained by the antiferromagnetic band gap formation theory proposed by Abel'skii.     

Effect of purification on the electron structure and field emission characteristics of a carbonaceous material containing single-wall carbon nanotubes

A carbonaceous material containing single-wall carbon nanotubes (SWNTs) has been synthesized by arc-discharge evaporation of graphite with a catalytic additive of nickel and cobalt powders. The synthesized SWNTs were purified from an amorphous carbon component (soot) and the catalyst particles by boiling in nitric acid. A comparison of the X-ray fluorescence spectra measured before and after this treatment showed that acid etching significantly decreased the content of soot in the material. The material enriched with SWNTs is characterized by a reduced threshold for the appearance of the field emission current, which is explained by a decrease in the screening effect of soot. The current-voltage characteristics of SWNTs exhibit a hysteresis, which is suggested to be due to the adsorption of molecules and radicals on the surface and at the ends of carbon nanotubes.     

Thermoelectric power of cerium up to 6 GPa

The thermoelectric power (TEP) of cerium has been measured up to 6 GPa. The results have been interpreted using the theories developed by Blandin et. al. and Hirst.     

Random telegraph noise in carbon nanotubes and peapods

The switching of resistance between two discrete values, known as random telegraph noise (RTN), was observed in individual single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWNTs) and C₆₀-filled SWNTs (the so-called peapods). The RTN has been studied as a function of bias-voltage and gate-voltage as well as temperature. By analyzing the features of the RTN, we identify three different types of RTN existing in the SWNT related systems. While the RTN can be generated by the various charge traps in the vicinity of the SWNTs, the RTN for metallic SWNTs is mainly due to reversible defect motions between two metastable states, activated by inelastic scattering with ballistic electrons. On the other hand, the noise for peapods can be attributed to the motion of C₆₀ molecules in hollow space of SWNTs.     

Growth of single-walled carbon nanotubes on silicon nanowires

Single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWNTs) have been grown on silicon nanowires (SiNWs) by ethanol chemical vapor deposition (CVD) with Co catalysts. We have found that a surface SiO_x layer of SiNWs is necessary for the formation of active Co catalysts. In fact, the yield of the SWNT/SiNW heterojunctions gradually decreases as the thickness of the surface SiO_x layer decreases. Since thin SiNWs are transparent to an electron beam, the Co nanoparticles on SiNWs can be easily observed as well as SWNTs by TEM. Therefore, the relationship between the diameters of each SWNT and its catalyst nanoparticle has been investigated. The diameters of SWNTs are equal to or slightly smaller than those of the catalyst nanoparticles.     

Thermoelectric power of electron-irradiated graphite at low temperatures

The thermoelectric power (TEP) of very well oriented, nearly single-crystal graphite irradiated at 333 K by 3 MeV electrons was measured along the basal plane direction above 5 K. Changes in the low-temperature dependence of the TEP after different stages of annealing, at 410 and 520 K, have also been investigated. Analysing carefully the experimental data, the phonondrag component S_ph of the TEP is extracted and compared with the theory of Jay-Gerin and Maynard. As a check of the concentration of the irradiation defects, deduced from this analysis, measurements of the thermal conductivity were made on the same samples. The results are found to be in good agreement.     

Synthesis, integration, and electrical properties of individual single-walled carbon nanotubes

High-quality single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWNTs) are synthesized by chemical vapor deposition (CVD) of methane on silicon-dioxide substrates at controlled locations using patterned catalytic islands. With the synthesized nanotube chips, microfabrication techniques are used to reliably contact individual SWNTs and obtain low contact resistance. The combined chemical synthesis and microfabrication approaches enable systematic characterization of electron transport properties of a large number of individual SWNTs. Results of electrical properties of representative semiconducting and metallic SWNTs are presented. The lowest two-terminal resistance for individual metallic SWNTs (≈5 μm long) is ≈16.5 kΩ measured at 4.2 K. Received: 17 May 1999 / Accepted: 18 May 1999 / Published online: 14 July 1999     

Structural transformations in single-wall carbon nanotubes under high pressure

Single-wall carbon nanotubes (SWNTs) under high pressure exhibit high structural stability and a series of structural transitions up to 35 GPa. As theoretically predicted, the irreversible transformation of SWNTs in the pressure range of 10–30 GPa can be attributed to the polymerization of nanotubes. The electrical conductivity of SWNTs is studied at high pressures up to 35 GPa using a diamond anvil cell (DAC) with electrically conductive anvils of the “rounded cone-plane” type made of synthetic carbonado-type diamonds. SWNTs are studied before and after the application of high pressure using the Raman confocal microscopy technique. Analysis of Raman spectra and pressure dependences of the SWNT resistance shows that the observed structural changes in SWNTs are reversible and no polymerization or collapse are observed.     

单层纳米碳管振动模的拉曼光谱研究

测量了单层纳米碳管的一级、二级拉曼光谱.在40—3300cm^-1范围内观测到18条一级拉曼谱线和7条二级拉曼谱线,理论所预言的谱线几乎全被观测到,谱峰位置和理论值符合得很好.通过和理论值的对照,对这些谱线作了初步标定.所观测到的单层纳米碳管的拉曼激活振动模数目及二级拉曼谱线条数都是迄今最多的. 关键词：     

Investigation of the influence factors of polyethylene molecule encapsulated into carbon nanotubes by molecular dynamics simulation

In this work, the influence factors, namely chirality, temperature, radius and surface chemical modification, of the interaction energy for polyethylene (PE) molecule encapsulated into single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWNTs) had been investigated by molecular mechanics (MM) and molecular dynamics (MD) simulation. The results showed that all these factors would influence the interaction energy between PE and SWNTs. The interaction energy between PE molecule and the armchair SWNTs is largest among eight kinds of chiral SWNTs. The interaction energy decreases with the increase of temperature or the SWNT radius. The methyl, phenyl, hydroxyl, carboxyl, -F, and amino groups, have been introduced onto the surface of the SWNTs by the simulation software and the influence of SWNT chemical modification has also been investigated. The interaction energy between PE and chemically modified SWNTs is larger than that between PE and pristine SWNTs, and increases with increasing the concentration of the modified groups monotonously. In addition, the group electronegativity and van der Waals force will affect the interaction energy between PE and chemically modified SWNTs greatly, which can be attributed to the electronic structures of the chemically modified groups. This study can provide some useful suggestions for the composite material design and drug transport.     

以Y/Ni为催化剂制备的单壁碳纳米管的拉曼光谱研究

采用电弧放电法以Y/Ni为催化制备了单壁碳纳米管（SWNTs），对样品进行了扫描电镜、透射电镜和拉曼光谱的研究。所制备的样品中单壁碳纳米管的含量较高。对单壁碳纳米管的共振拉曼散射增强效应进行了观察，随激光波长的不同，单壁碳纳米管的拉曼光谱也随之变化，尤其是低频区径向呼吸模的变化比较明显。利用布里渊区折叠法计算了单壁碳纳米管的电子态密度曲线，根据SWNTs电子态密度尖峰之间的能量差、管子的直径和呼吸模频率建立了一个图表，并对SWNTs的呼吸模进行了归属。分析结果表明：样品中单壁碳纳米管的直径分布在0.79-1.76nm范围，金属管和半导体管均存在，并且直径在1.45nm附近的碳管居多。     

Effects of gas adsorption and collisions on electrical transport in single-walled carbon nanotubes

Degassing of bundles of single-walled carbon nanotubes in vacuum at 500 K is found to drive the thermoelectricpower (TEP) strongly negative, indicating that the degassed metallic tubes in a bundle are n type. The magnitude of the negative TEP indicates that important asymmetry in the electronic carbon pi bands exists near the Fermi energy. Easily measurable increases in the TEP ( approximately 5-10 &mgr;V/K) and resistivity ( 2%-10%) are observed at 500 K upon exposure to N2 and He, suggesting that even gas collisions with the nanotube wall can contribute significantly to the transport properties.     

碳纳米管中封装富勒烯的机理

利用经典分子动力学模型,发现C60进入单壁碳纳米管(SWNTs)形成(C60)n@SWNTs的吸入和俘获机理.揭示了吸入和俘获势垒只局域于SWNTs的管口区,而在SWNTs的管内区,C60沿管轴方向的运动几乎不受力.最后,系统地计算了吸入和俘获势垒随SWNTs管径的变化,发现只有当SWNTs的管径大于阈值1238nm时才能吸入C 关键词： 富勒烯相关材料 碳纳米管 类虹吸作用     

Dynamics of individual single-walled carbon nanotubes in water by real-time visualization

Individual single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWNTs) in aqueous suspension are visualized directly by fluorescence video microscopy. The fluorescent tagging is simple, biocompatible, and does not modify the SWNTs. The dynamics of individual SWNTs in water are observed and quantified for the first time. We measure the confined rotational diffusion coefficient and find it in reasonable agreement with predictions based on confined diffusion of dilute Brownian rods. We determine the critical concentration at which SWNTs in suspensions start interacting. By analyzing the fluctuating shape of SWNTs in the 3 to 5 microm range, we determine that their persistence length ranges between 32 and 174 microm, in agreement with theoretical estimates; thus, commonly available SWNTs in liquids can be considered as rigid Brownian rods in the absence of imposed external fields or self-attractive forces.     

低温下单壁碳纳米管拉曼光谱温度效应研究

在单壁碳纳米管的低温拉曼光谱测量过程中,发现径向呼吸模(RBM)和正切拉伸模(GM)的拉曼频移在低温下的温度效应和在高温时的温度效应存在着很大的区别,在低温下拉曼光谱的频移和温度并不呈线性关系。而且,在温度为210K时,单壁碳纳米管内部的振动结构可能发生了变化。在低温下单壁碳纳米管拉曼峰的强度的变化是不可逆的。     

Studies of thermodynamic fluctuations of thermoelectric power of Tl2Ba2Ca0.8Y0.2Cu2O8+y superconductor

Excess thermoelectric power (TEP) of Tl₂Ba₂Ca_0.8Y_0.2Cu₂O_8+y ceramic superconductor has been studied. Variation of excess TEP with temperature has been found to follow an equation similar to that of Aslamazov and Larkin derived for the variation of excess conductivity with temperature. The superconducting behaviour of the sample, as determined from excess TEP, has been found to be 2-dimensional in nature.