Assignment of the Absolute-Handedness Chirality of Single-Walled Carbon Nanotubes by Using Organic Molecule Supramolecular Structures

Supramolecular structures of organic molecules on planar nanocarbon surfaces, such as highly oriented pyrolytic graphite (HOPG), have been extensively studied and the factors that control them are generally well-established. In contrast, the properties of supramolecular structures on curved nanocarbon surfaces like carbon nanotubes remain challenging to predict and/or to understand. This paper reports an investigation into the first study of the supramolecular structures of 5,15-bisdodecylporphyrin (C12P) on chiral, concentrated single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWNTs; with right-handed helix P- and left-handed helix M-) surfaces using STM. Furthermore, the study is the first of its kind to experimentally assign the absolute-handedness chirality of SWNTs, as well as to understand their effect on the supramolecular structures of organic molecules on their surfaces. Interestingly, these SWNT enantiomers resulted in supramolecular structures of opposite chirality based on the handedness chirality. With molecular modelling, we predicted the absolute-handedness chirality of SWNTs, before demonstrating this experimentally.