Amphoteric and controllable doping of carbon nanotubes by encapsulation of organic and organometallic molecules

By using first principles calculations, we show that fine tuning of both p- and n-type doping can be realized on single-wall carbon nanotubes (SWNTs) by tuning the electron affinity or ionization potential of the organic and organometallic molecules encapsulated inside SWNTs. This novel type of SWNT-based material offers great promise for molecular electronics because of its air stability, synthetic simplicity and the abundance of organic and organometallic molecules.