1. Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02138, USA
2. Division of Engineering and Applied Sciences, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02138, USA

Correspondence to: Charles M. Lieber^1,2 Correspondence and requests for materials should be addressed to C.M.L. (e-mail: Email: cml@cmliris.harvard.edu).

Abstract

Carbon nanotubes¹ are predicted to be metallic or semiconducting depending on their diameter and the helicity of the arrangement of graphitic rings in their walls^{2, 3, 4, 5}. Scanning tunnelling microscopy (STM) offers the potential to probe this prediction, as it can resolve simultaneously both atomic structure and the electronic density of states. Previous STM studies of multi-walled nanotubes^{6, 7, 8, 9} and single-walled nanotubes (SWNTs)¹⁰ have provided indications of differing structures and diameter-dependent electronic properties, but have not revealed any explicit relationship between structure and electronic properties. Here we report STM measurements of the atomic structure and electronic properties of SWNTs. We are able to resolve the hexagonal-ring structure of the walls, and show that the electronic properties do indeed depend on diameter and helicity. We find that the SWNT samples exhibit many different structures, with no one species dominating.

1. Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02138, USA
2. Division of Engineering and Applied Sciences, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02138, USA

Correspondence to: Charles M. Lieber^1,2 Correspondence and requests for materials should be addressed to C.M.L. (e-mail: Email: cml@cmliris.harvard.edu).