Synthesis and characterization of a grapevine nanostructure consisting of single-walled carbon nanotubes with covalently attached [60]fullerene balls

A grapevine nanostructure based on single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWNTs) covalently functionalized with 60]fullerene (C60) has been synthesized and characterized in detail. Investigations into the ball-on-tube carbon nanostructure by ESR spectroscopy indicate a tendency for ground-state electron transfer from the SWNT to the C60 moieties. The cyclic-voltammetric response of the nanostructure film exhibits reversible multiple-step electrochemical reactions of the dispersed C60, which are strikingly similar to those of the C60 derivatives in solution, but with consistent negative shifts in the redox potential. This results from the covalent linkage of C60 to the surfaces of the SWNTs in the form of monomers and manifests the electronic interaction between the C60 and SWNT moieties.