A DFT study of 5-fluorouracil adsorption on the pure and doped BN nanotubes

The electronic and adsorption properties of the pristine, Al-, Ga-, and Ge-doped BN nanotubes interacted with 5-fluorouracil molecule (5-FU) were theoretically investigated in the gas phase using the B3LYP density functional theory (DFT) calculations. It was found that the adsorption behavior of 5FU molecule on the pristine (8, 0) and (5, 5) BNNTs are electrostatic in nature. In contrast, the 5FU molecule (O-side) implies strong adsorption on the metal-doped BNNTs. Our results indicate that the Ga-doped presents high sensitivity and strong adsorption with the 5-FU molecule than the Al- and Ge-doped BNNTs. Therefore, it can be introduced as a carrier for drug delivery applications.     

Interaction between methanol and single-walled carbon nanotubes: Density functional theory study

Density functional calculations have been performed to investigate the dependence of methanol interaction with the side walls of single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) on the nanotube's type, curvature and chirality. The author's results show that methanol prefers to be physically adsorbed on semiconducting CNTs in comparison with the metallic one. It was found that the binding energy of methanol is increased for adsorption on larger-diameter nanotubes. Furthermore, we find that when a methanol molecule was adsorbed on higher chiral angle nanotubes the binding energy was increased. The study of the electronic structures and Mulliken analysis indicate that the methanol and CNT are interacting rather weakly, consistent with recent experimental observation.     

Adsorption of HCN molecules on Ni,Pd and Pt-doped (7, 0) boron nitride nanotube: a DFT study

We studied affinity of pure and Ni, Pd and Pt-doped (7, 0) boron nitride nanotubes (BNNTs) to toxic HCN molecules using density functional theory calculations. The results indicated that the pure (7, 0) BNNTs can weakly adsorb HCN molecules with adsorption energy of ?0.2474 eV. Upon adsorption of HCN molecules on this nanotube, the band gap energy was decreased from 3.320 to 2.960 eV. The more negative adsorption energy between these transition metal-doped (7, 0) BNNTs and HCN molecules indicated that doping of (7, 0) BNNTs with Ni, Pd and Pt elements can significantly improve the affinity of BNNTs toward this gas. Additionally, it was found that the interaction energy between HCN molecules and Pt-doped BNNTs is more negative than those of the Ni and Pd-doped BNNTs. These observations suggested that the Pt-doped (7, 0) BNNTs are strongly sensitive to HCN molecules and therefore it may be used in gas sensor devices for detecting this toxic gas.     

A DFT study for adsorption of CO on Ni,Pd and Pt atoms doped (7, 0) boron nitride nanotube

By using density functional theory calculations, we investigated the structural, electronic and magnetic properties of carbon monoxide (CO) adsorption on the pure, Ni, Pd and Pt doped atoms in zigzag single-walled (7, 0) boron nitride nanotubes (BNNTs). The results indicated that compared to the pure (7, 0) BNNTs, replacing B atom by Ni, Pd and Pt atoms can significantly increase the adsorption energy of CO gas on the BNNTs. The adsorption energies of CO gas on the pure (7, 0) Ni, Pd and Pt doped (7, 0) BNNTs are ?0.2013, ?1.746, ?1.593 and ?2.257 eV, respectively. Our results revealed that in comparison with the pure (7, 0) BNNTs, CO gas is chemisorbed on the transition metal doped (7, 0) BNNTs with the appreciable adsorption energy. In addition, it was found that by doping these atoms, band gap energy of the pure (7, 0) BNNTs is considerably decreased. These observations suggested that the Pt doped (7, 0) BNNTs can be introduced as a promising candidate in gas sensor devices for detecting CO gas.     

A comparison between the mechanical and thermal properties of single-walled carbon nanotubes and boron nitride nanotubes

Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) are semimetallic while boron nitride nanotubes (BNNTs) are wide band gap insulators. Despite the discrepancy in their electrical properties, a comparison between the mechanical and thermal properties of CNTs and BNNTs has a significant research value for their potential applications. In this work, molecular dynamics simulations are performed to systematically investigate the mechanical and thermal properties of CNTs and BNNTs. The calculated Young’s modulus is about 1.1 TPa for CNTs and 0.72 TPa for BNNTs under axial compressions. The critical bucking strain and maximum stress are inversely proportional to both diameter and length-diameter ratio and CNTs are identified axially stiffer than BNNTs. Thermal conductivities of (10, 0) CNTs and (10, 0) BNNTs follow similar trends with respect to length and temperature and are lower than that of their two-dimensional counterparts, graphene nanoribbons (GNRs) and BN nanoribbons (BNNRs), respectively. As the temperature falls below 200 K (130 K) the thermal conductivity of BNNTs (BNNRs) is larger than that of CNTs (GNRs), while at higher temperature it is lower than the latter. In addition, thermal conductivities of a (10, 0) CNT and a (10, 0) BNNT are further studied and analyzed under various axial compressive strains. Low-frequency phonons which mainly come from flexure modes are believed to make dominant contribution to the thermal conductivity of CNTs and BNNTs.     

First-principles study of palladium atom adsorption on the boron- or nitrogen-doped carbon nanotubes

We have performed first-principles calculation to investigate the adsorption of a single palladium atom on the surface of the pristine and boron- or nitrogen-doped carbon nanotubes (CNTs). The results show that for the adsorption of a single palladium atom on the pristine CNT surface, the most stable site is Bridge1 site above the axial carbon–carbon bond. Either boron- or nitrogen-doped CNTs can assist palladium surface adsorption, but the detailed mechanisms are different. The enhanced palladium adsorption on boron-doped CNT is attributed to the palladium d orbital strongly hybridized with both boron p orbital and carbon p orbital. The enhancement in palladium adsorption on nitrogen-doped CNT results from activating the nitrogen-neighboring carbon atoms due to the large electron affinity of nitrogen. Furthermore, the axial bond is preferred over the zigzag bond for a palladium atom adsorbed on the surface of all three types of CNTs. The most energetically favorable site for a palladium atom adsorbed on three types of CNTs is above the axial boron–carbon bond in boron-doped CNT. The enhancement in palladium adsorption is more significant for the boron-doped CNT than it is for nitrogen-doped CNT with a similar configuration. So we conclude that accordingly, the preferred adsorption site is determined by the competition between the electron affinity of doped and adsorbed atoms and preferred degree of the axial bond over the zigzag bond.     

Specific heat capacity and density of multi-walled boron nitride nanotubes by chemical vapor deposition

We report on the basic physical quantities of boron nitride nanotubes (BNNTs), namely specific heat capacity and density, which have not been measured to date. A series of differential scanning calorimetry experiments were performed, and specific heat capacity was calculated for multi-walled BNNTs synthesized by chemical vapor deposition using boron and metal oxide as precursor. Very close specific heat capacity values were revealed for BNNTs and a BN powder of hexagonal (h-BN) phase. Densities of BNNTs were measured through density analyses of their epoxy composites. Our work is important as far as bulk properties of large amounts of BNNTs are crucial, for example, thermal property and density prediction for composite materials with BNNTs embedded.     

Molecular dynamics study of the torsional vibration characteristics of boron-nitride nanotubes

In recent years, synthesizing inorganic nanostructures such as boron nitride nanotubes (BNNTs) has led to extensive studies on their exceptional properties. In this study, the torsional vibration behavior of boron-nitride nanotubes (BNNTs) is explored on the basis of molecular dynamics (MD) simulation. The results show that the torsional frequency is sensitive to geometrical parameters such as length and boundary conditions. The axial vibration is found to be induced by torsional vibration of nanotubes which can cause instability in the nanostructure. It is also observed that the torsional frequency of BNNTs is higher than that of their carbon counterpart. Moreover, the shear modulus is predicted by incorporating MD simulation numerical results into torsional vibration frequency obtained through continuum-based model of tubes. Finally, it is seen that the torsional frequency of double-walled boron-nitride nanotubes (DWBNNTs) is between the frequencies of their constituent inner and outer tubes.     

Molecular hydrogen and oxygen interactions with armchair Si nanotubes

Molecular hydrogen and oxygen adsorptions on a (6, 6) armchair silicon nanotube have been studied by optimizing the distances of the admolecules from both inside and outside the tube. Full geometry and spin optimizations have been performed without any symmetry constraints with an all electron 3-21G* basis set and the B3LYP functional. The molecule is originally placed perpendicular or parallel to the tube axis. Hydrogen adsorption with the molecular axis aligned parallel to the surface of the nanotube is less favorable. Hydrogen molecule does not dissociate while oxygen molecule dissociates after optimization. The on-top site is the only preferred site for hydrogen molecule with an adsorption energy of 3.71 eV and an optimized distance of 3.31 for external adsorption whereas the on-top site is the most preferred site with adsorption energy of 3.69 eV for internal adsorption. For oxygen, the molecule dissociates and the most preferred sites are the two bridge sites with an adsorption energy of 9.64 eV, the optimized distance being 1.65/1.68 Å when it is adsorbed from the outside of the tube. When oxygen molecule is originally placed at on-top site it will hold as a molecule after adsorption with a slightly increased bond length. For the internal adsorption of oxygen, the molecules also dissociate in most cases and the zigzag bridge site is the most preferred site. After molecular adsorption for both hydrogen and oxygen, the buckling of the nanotubes increased. Frustration effects in the nanotube due to molecular adsorption are also noted.     

Electronic structures and magnetic properties of rare-earth-atom-doped BNNTs

Stable geometries, electronic structures, and magnetic properties of (8,0) and (4,4) single-walled BN nanotubes (BNNTs) doped with rare-earth (RE) atoms are investigated using the first-principles pseudopotential plane wave method with density functional theory (DFT). The results show that these RE atoms can be effectively doped in BNNTs with favorable energies. Because of the curvature effect, the values of binding energy for RE-atom–doped (4,4) BNNTs are larger than those of the same atoms on (8,0) BNNTs. Electron transfer between RE-5d, 6s, and B-2p, N-2p orbitals was also observed. Furthermore, electronic structures and magnetic properties of BNNTs can be modified by such doping. The results show that the adsorption of Ce, Pm, Sm, and Eu atoms can induce magnetization, while no magnetism is observed when BNNTs are doped with La. These results are useful for spintronics applications and for developing magnetic nanostructures.     

Theoretical studies of chemisorption of NO2 molecules on SiC nanotube

Silicon carbide (SiC) nanotubes have attracted extensive attention due to the unique properties. Modifying the electronic properties of SiC nanotubes is helpful for further widening their potential applications. In this paper, we have studied the chemisorption of NO₂ molecules at different coverage on a series of SiC nanotubes through density functional theory (DFT) calculations. The results indicate that changes in energetic, structural and electronic properties of the SiC nanotubes are significantly dependent on the coverage of adsorbed NO₂ molecules: (1) a nitrite-like structure is obtained for an odd number of NO₂ molecules adsorption on the SiC nanotube, while an even number of NO₂ molecules adsorption leads to a nitro-like configuration; (2) the adsorption energy per NO₂ molecule for even number adsorption is larger than that of odd number, suggesting that the NO₂ groups prefer the pair arrangement due to the coupling of two radicals; (3) with the increase of the coverage of the adsorbed NO₂, the band-gaps of SiC nanotubes are decreased, thus leading to the enhancement of the electro-conductivity of SiC nanotubes. Our results might provide an alternative strategy to modify the properties of SiC nanotubes, which might be useful for the design of SiC nanotubes-based nanodevices.     

Molecular dynamics of reactions between (4,0) zigzag carbon nanotube and hydrogen peroxide under extreme conditions

ABSTRACT

Single-wall carbon nanotubes (CNTs) have been suggested as potential materials for use in next-generation gas sensors. The sidewall functionalisation of CNTs facilitates gas molecule adsorption. In this study, density functional theory (DFT)-based ab initio molecular dynamics simulations are performed for a periodic zigzag single-wall (4,0) CNT surrounded by a monolayer of hydrogen peroxide molecules in an attempt to find conditions that favour sidewall functionalisation. The dependency of dynamics on charge states of the system is examined. It is found negative charges favour reactions that result in the functionalisation of the CNT. First principles molecular dynamics of defect formation yields chemically reasonable structure of stable defects, which can be reproduced in CNTs of any diameter and chirality. The explored hydroxyl and hydroperoxyl defects increase conductivity in a large diameter (10,0) CNT, while decrease conductivities in a small diameter (4,0) CNT.     

Variation of the electronic properties of zigzag boron nitride nanotubes by Al-doping: a DFT study

Boron nitride nanotubes (BNNTs) are semiconductors with a wide band gap. In comparison with carbon nanotubes (CNTs), BNNTs have higher chemical stability, excellent mechanical properties and higher thermal conductivity. In this paper, we study the effect of diameters and substituting B and N atoms of various zigzag BNNTs with Al, on structural and electronic properties of BNNTs in solid state using the density functional theory method. The results of calculations of density of states and band structure (band) showed that the band gap between the valence and conduction level increases as a result of the enhancement of tube diameter of BNNTs. Finally, the results showed that the electronic properties of the pristine BNNTs can be improved by doping Al atom in the zigzag configuration of tubes.     

Josephson current through randomly oriented CNTs

In this paper, we employ tunneling Hamiltonian formulation to obtain analytical expression for the Josephson current in (n, m) Carbon nanotubes (CNT) sandwiched between s-wave superconductors. For metallic tubes, we find that the dominant contribution to the Josephson current arises from modes crossing the Dirac points. Contribution from such conducting channels is independent of tube diameter of carbon nanotubes. Josephson current for each CNT is determined in terms of the spacing d between the superconductors, and the angle between the tube axis and the vector normal to the interface. Averaging over orientation angles gives the Josephson current through an assembly of randomly oriented CNTs, which turns out to be on the scale of 100 nA.     

缺陷碳纳米管限域金属Ti原子的理论研究

基于密度泛函第一性原理研究了金属原子Ti在原始、单空位缺陷(SV)、Stone-Wales(SW)缺陷碳纳米管内外的吸附情况.我们的计算结果表明金属Ti原子在缺陷碳纳米管内外结合能的排列顺序为:SVSW-zSW-xpristine(外吸附),SVSW-xSW-zpristine(内吸附).同时,我们通过吸附结构、电子密度和态密度等分析了Ti原子与碳纳米管的作用机制.其中,SV缺陷碳纳米管由于失去一个碳原子而形成了的三个悬键具有很强的结合能力,金属原子Ti在SV缺陷碳纳米管内外的吸附能力都是最强的.对于SW缺陷的碳纳米管,由于缺陷的位置不同,对于金属原子Ti内外吸附的能力也是不同的.因此,缺陷的存在能调节碳纳米管载体对Ti原子的吸附性能.     

Electrical, dielectric and surface wetting properties of multi-walled carbon nanotubes/nylon-6 nanocomposites

This paper reports that the multi-walled carbon nanotubes(MWCNT)/nylon-6 (PA6) nanocomposites with different MWCNT loadingshave been prepared by a simple melt-compounding method. Theelectrical, dielectric, and surface wetting properties of theCNT/PA6 composites have been studied. The temperature dependence ofthe conductivity of the CNT/PA6 composite with 10.0 wt{\%} CNTloading ($\sigma _{\rm RT} \sim 10^{-4}$ S/cm) are measured, andafterwards a charge-energy-limited tunnelling model (ln $\sigma (T)\sim T^{-1/2})$ is found. With increasing CNT weight percentage from0.0 to 10.0 wt%, the dielectric constant of the CNT/PA6composites enhances and the dielectric loss tangent increases twoorders of magnitude. In addition, water contact angles of theCNT/PA6 composites increase and the composites with CNT loadinglarger than 2.0 wt%even become hydrophobic. The obtainedresults indicate that the electrical and surface properties of thecomposites have been significantly enhanced by the embedded carbonnanotubes.     

Effect of tube radius on the exohedral chemical functionalization of boron-nitride zigzag nanotubes with NH3

The interaction between zigzag BNNTs with chirality index n=3–10 and ammonia has been studied at the level of B3LYP/6-31G^?. Ammonia can be chemically adsorbed on (3,0) to (7,0) BNNTs and physically adsorbed on other studied BNNTs. From NBO analysis charge transfer occur from NH₃ to BNNTs and change in the natural electron configuration of B atom of BNNTs at adsorption site for the (3,0) and (4,0) BNNTs cases is larger than others. The DOS result show that after functionalization of BNNTs with NH₃ molecules electronic properties of tubes are largely preserved and can be viewed as some kind of harmless modification. Electronic analysis revealed that the interaction of zigzag BNNTs with ammonia is more electrostatic (ionic) in nature, rather than the sole covalent and electrostatic nature increased with increasing of tube diameter.     

Theoretical investigation of CO adsorption on TM-doped (MgO)12 (TM = Ni, Pd, Pt) nanotubes

CO adsorption on TM-doped magnesia nanotubes (TM = Ni, Pd and Pt) have been studied by using density functional theory. Our calculation results show that CO favors adsorption on TM-doped magnesia nanotubes in the form of C atom bonding with TM atom. Fukui indices analysis clearly exhibits that doping of impurity TM atom allows for a noticeably enhancement of nucleophilic reactivity ability of magnesia nanotube. The adsorption energies demonstrate that CO molecule is more strongly bound on the 3-fold TM atoms than the 4-fold TM atoms. This finding is well confirmed by TM-C bond length, charge transfer and C-O vibrational frequency. The high adsorption energy of 2.55 eV is found when CO adsorbs on 3-fold Pt in Pt-doped magnesia nanotubes, implying the kind of the doping TM atom has a significant influence on the chemical reactivity.     

First-principle study of interaction of molecular hydrogen with BC<Subscript>3</Subscript> composite single-walled nanotube

The physisorption of molecular hydrogen in BC₃ composite single-walled nanotube, investigated using density functional theory, was compared with single-walled carbon nanotube. Both external and internal adsorption sites of these two nanotubes have been studied with the hydrogen molecular axis oriented parallel to the nanotube wall. The calculated results show that: ([see full textsee full text]) the physisorption energies of a H₂ molecule are larger for BC₃(8,0) composite nanotube than for C(8,0) nanotube at all adsorption sites examined. ([see full textsee full text]) For these two nanotubes, the physisorption energies are larger for hydrogen bound inside the nanotubes than for adsorption outside the nanotubes. The different behavior between these two nanotubes is explained by the contour plots of electron density and charge-density difference of them. The present computations suggest that BC₃ nanotube may be a better candidate for hydrogen storage than carbon nanotube.     

Reactor scale modeling of multi-walled carbon nanotube growth

As the mechanisms of carbon nanotube (CNT) growth becomes known, it becomes important to understand how to implement this knowledge into reactor scale models to optimize CNT growth. In past work, we have reported fundamental mechanisms and competing deposition regimes that dictate single wall carbon nanotube growth. In this study, we will further explore the growth of carbon nanotubes with multiple walls. A tube flow chemical vapor deposition reactor is simulated using the commercial software package COMSOL, and considered the growth of single- and multi-walled carbon nanotubes. It was found that the limiting reaction processes for multi-walled carbon nanotubes change at different temperatures than the single walled carbon nanotubes and it was shown that the reactions directly governing CNT growth are a limiting process over certain parameters. This work shows that the optimum conditions for CNT growth are dependent on temperature, chemical concentration, and the number of nanotube walls. Optimal reactor conditions have been identified as defined by (1) a critical inlet methane concentration that results in hydrogen abstraction limited versus hydrocarbon adsorption limited reaction kinetic regime, and (2) activation energy of reaction for a given reactor temperature and inlet methane concentration. Successful optimization of a CNT growth processes requires taking all of those variables into account.