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Alternating patterns on single-walled carbon nanotubes

Nature Nanotechnology volume 4, pages 358–362 (2009)Cite this article

Abstract

Scientific and technological interest in one-dimensional nanomaterials, in particular carbon nanotubes1,2, is a result of their fascinating properties and their ability to serve as templates for directed assembly. For applications in nanoelectronics it is necessary to create ordered arrays of nanotubes for large-scale integrated circuits, an area in which there has been significant progress3,4,5,6,7, and to produce controllable patterns on individual nanotubes so that multiple transistors can be fabricated on them, an area where progress has been slower8,9,10,11,12,13,14. Here, we show that judiciously selected crystalline block copolymers can be periodically decorated along carbon nanotubes, leading to amphiphilic, alternating patterns with a period of ∼12 nm. In addition, end-functionalization of the block copolymers allowed gold nanoparticles to be periodically attached to the nanotubes. This approach provides a facile technique for the periodic patterning of one-dimensional nanomaterials.

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Figure 1: The alternating pattern of PE-b-PEO block copolymers formed on SWNTs.
Figure 2: TEM images of the five different morphologies of the block copolymer/SWNT hybrid at various block copolymer concentrations.
Figure 3: Growth mechanism of the alternating stripes on a SWNT.
Figure 4: Periodic immobilization of 5-nm gold nanoparticles on the block copolymer/SWNT hybrid.

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported by National Science Foundation grant no. DMR-0804838.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. A. J. Drexel Nanotechnology Institute and Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Drexel University, Philadelphia, 19104, Pennsylvania, USA

    Bing Li, Lingyu Li, Bingbing Wang & Christopher Y. Li

Authors
  1. Bing Li
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  2. Lingyu Li
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  3. Bingbing Wang
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  4. Christopher Y. Li
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Contributions

C.L. and B.L. conceived and designed the experiments. B.L. performed the experiments, with help from L.L. and B.W. B.L. and C.L. co-wrote the paper. All authors discussed the results and commented on the manuscript.

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Correspondence to Christopher Y. Li.

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Li, B., Li, L., Wang, B. et al. Alternating patterns on single-walled carbon nanotubes. Nature Nanotech 4, 358–362 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1038/nnano.2009.91

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