Carbon nanotubes and fullerenes articles within Nature Communications

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  • Article
    | Open Access

    By utilizing electron-hole asymmetry in ultra-short single-walled carbon nanotube (SWCNT) transistors, McRaeet al., develop ‘two-in-one’ SWCNT quantum devices that can switch from behaving as quantum-dot transistors for holes to quantum buses for electrons by changing the transistor’s gate voltage

    • A. C. McRae
    • , V. Tayari
    •  & A. R. Champagne

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Quasicrystals promise exciting technological advances in optical devices, but their formation mechanism is yet not fully understood. Here, the authors describe a two-dimensional dodecagonal fullerene quasicrystal, forming on a Pt3Ti(111)-surface due to the complex adsorption-energy landscape.

    • M. Paßens
    • , V. Caciuc
    •  & S. Karthäuser

  • Article
    | Open Access

    DNA hybridization of two single-strands to form a double-stranded helix is widely used for genomic identification applications. Here, Vernicket al. record duplex formation of 20-mer oligonucleotide using a single-molecule field-effect transistor, where DNA kinetics is affected by electrostatic bias.

    • Sefi Vernick
    • , Scott M. Trocchia
    •  & Kenneth L. Shepard

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Thermoelectric modules can generate electricity directly from heat and have applications to waste heat-energy conversion. Here Zhouet al. have fabricated a thermoelectric module based on an air-stable n-type single-walled carbon nanotube sheet which can reach a high power factor of 1500 μWm−1K−2.

    • Wenbin Zhou
    • , Qingxia Fan
    •  & Sishen Xie

  • Article
    | Open Access

    The experimental determination of band structure of single wall carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) is a challenging task, and often must be theoretically predicted. Here, the authors separate SWCNTs in high purity and experimentally determine their excitonic band structures using circular dichroism spectra.

    • Xiaojun Wei
    • , Takeshi Tanaka
    •  & Hiromichi Kataura

  • Article
    | Open Access

    The many-body Kondo effect manifests in low-temperature Coulomb blockaded quantum dots as a zero-bias conductance peak, which arises due to charge-fluctuation-driven transport. Here, the authors demonstrate a counterintuitive Kondo effect in which these conduction channels are blocked.

    • Michael Niklas
    • , Sergey Smirnov
    •  & Milena Grifoni

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Enhancement techniques are a viable route to improve the intrinsically weak Raman scattering intensity. Here the authors demonstrate Purcell enhancement of Raman scattering in a tunable, high-finesse microcavity and use it for Raman imaging of individual carbon nanotubes

    • Thomas Hümmer
    • , Jonathan Noe
    •  & David Hunger

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Integrating carbon nanotubes into electronic devices requires quick and non-invasive imaging of the nanostructures for precision positioning. Here, the authors use the base of the nanotubes to nucleate the growth of optically visible organic nanocrystals, which thus enables simple microscopy.

    • G. Zeevi
    • , M. Shlafman
    •  & Y. E. Yaish

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Single-chirality, single-wall carbon nanotubes are attractive for bioimaging applications, however large-scale separation remains a challenge. Here, the authors utilize mixed surfactants for high-resolution single-chirality separation of (9,4) SWCNTs, demonstrating their improved performance for bioimaging.

    • Yohei Yomogida
    • , Takeshi Tanaka
    •  & Hiromichi Kataura

  • Article
    | Open Access

    The design and understanding of electrode–electrolyte interfaces is important for the development of improved energy storage devices. Here, the authors study the controlled deposition of molybdenum polyoxometalate anions onto carbon nanotube electrodes, and show this can result in increased specific capacitance.

    • Venkateshkumar Prabhakaran
    • , B. Layla Mehdi
    •  & Julia Laskin

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Growth of high-quality semiconducting single-wall carbon nanotubes is crucial for high-performance devices. Here, the authors report a partially carbon-coated cobalt nanoparticle catalyst which catalyzes growth of predominantly semiconducting single-wall carbon nanotubes with a narrow band-gap distribution.

    • Feng Zhang
    • , Peng-Xiang Hou
    •  & Hui-Ming Cheng

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Doping of low-dimensional graphitic materials with heteroatoms can enhance their catalytic, electrochemical and magnetic properties. Here, the authors report a tunable method to ‘superdope’ these materials with high levels of nitrogen, sulfur, or boron, via a simple fluorination and annealing procedure.

    • Yuan Liu
    • , Yuting Shen
    •  & Youwei Du

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Intermolecular interactions underpin an array of physical and chemical phenomena. Here, the authors probe the three dimensional potential between fullerene molecules in different orientations showing that the positional variation in the intermolecular binding energy is dominated repulsive interactions.

    • Adam Sweetman
    • , Mohammad A. Rashid
    •  & Philip Moriarty

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Single ion detection is typically performed with large devices rather than microelectronic devices. Here, the authors report the electrical detection of gaseous ions on single isolated carbon nanotubes, with a mechanism proposed based on ion-induced charge depletion in the nanostructures.

    • Adam W. Bushmaker
    • , Vanessa Oklejas
    •  & Stephen B. Cronin

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Atomic level engineering of graphene-based materials is highly demanded for the customized structures and properties. Here, the authors show heteroatom dopant-specific unzipping of carbon nanotubes as a reliable and controllable route to customized 'intact crystalline' graphene-based nanostructures.

    • Joonwon Lim
    • , Uday Narayan Maiti
    •  & Sang Ouk Kim

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Cheap and efficient hydrogen oxidation catalysts are needed for low cost hydroxide exchange membrane fuel cells. Here, the authors report that nickel nanoparticles supported on nitrogen doped carbon nanotubes have hydrogen oxidation activity similar to platinum-group-metals in alkaline electrolyte.

    • Zhongbin Zhuang
    • , Stephen A. Giles
    •  & Yushan Yan

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Atomic scale simulation of the nucleation and growth of carbon nanotubes is essential for understanding their growth mechanism. Here, the authors look at cap nucleation of nanotubes from hydrocarbon precursors, specifically probing the role of hydrogen in the early stages of growth.

    • Umedjon Khalilov
    • , Annemie Bogaerts
    •  & Erik C. Neyts

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Photoluminescent objects absorb light and then relax by emitting photons, usually with a lower energy. Here, the authors show that carbon nanotubes also emit larger energy photons thanks to one-phonon-assisted up-conversion, suggesting that nanotubes could be used as near-infrared up-converters.

    • Naoto Akizuki
    • , Shun Aota
    •  & Yuhei Miyauchi

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Photoinduced carrier-generation in individual semiconducting single-walled carbon nanotubes is controversial. Here, the authors demonstrate that free carriers can be generated even in the absence of dissociating interfaces by performing time-resolved microwave conductivity on solutions of dispersed nanotubes.

    • Jaehong Park
    • , Obadiah G. Reid
    •  & Garry Rumbles

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Graphene has excellent electronic properties but its photoresponsivity is limited by low absorption and the ultrafast recombination of photoexcited carriers. Here, the authors demonstrate fast, high responsivity and broadband photodetectors by combining graphene with single-wall carbon nanotubes.

    • Yuanda Liu
    • , Fengqiu Wang
    •  & Rong Zhang

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Curved π-conjugated molecules have potentially interesting chemical and electronic properties but the harsh conditions required for their synthesis can make it difficult to incorporate heteroatoms. Here, the authors prepare a π-extended azacorannulene with nitrogen in its centre.

    • Hiroki Yokoi
    • , Yuya Hiraoka
    •  & Hiroshi Shinokubo

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Stretchable displays need stretchable electronics to control them. Here, the authors create transparent and deformable thin-film transistors comprised of silver nanowire-based electrodes, a carbon nanotube network channel and a polyurethane-co-polyethylene oxide dielectric made using solution-based techniques.

    • Jiajie Liang
    • , Lu Li
    •  & Qibing Pei

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Printable electronics is highly desirable for high throughput device manufacture. Here, Matsuhisa et al. report an electric ink, made of a self-assembled network of sliver flakes on the surface of a fluorine rubber matrix, which exhibits high conductivity and mechanical durability to achieve this goal.

    • Naoji Matsuhisa
    • , Martin Kaltenbrunner
    •  & Takao Someya

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Direct coupling between chemical groups on individual nanostructures may lead to new architectures and reactions. Here, the authors report an ambient mechano-chemical reaction between two different reactant carbon nanotube varieties, which produces condensation products and unzipping of the nanotube structure.

    • Mohamad A. Kabbani
    • , Chandra Sekhar Tiwary
    •  & Pulickel M. Ajayan

  • Article |

    Radio-frequency circuits offer fast low-noise detection of signals in carbon nanotubes, but incompatibilities in fabrication degrade the performance of the hybrid device. Here, the authors use a deterministic mechanical transfer to couple pristine nanotubes to a gigahertz superconducting matching circuit.

    • V. Ranjan
    • , G. Puebla-Hellmann
    •  & C. Schönenberger

  • Article |

    Carbon nanotubes have been proposed for many forms of water treatment, although ultrafiltration nanotube-based membranes with very high flow rates remain rare. Here, the authors fabricate a membrane delivering water permeability close to 30,000 litres per square meter per hour at 1 bar.

    • Byeongho Lee
    • , Youngbin Baek
    •  & Yong Hyup Kim

  • Article |

    Thin films of carbon nanotubes are been considered for energy harvesting and optoelectronic devices but their energy transfer pathways are largely unknown. Here, Mehlenbacher et al. use two-dimensional white-light spectroscopy to investigate the ultrafast energy redistribution in carbon nanotube films.

    • Randy D. Mehlenbacher
    • , Thomas J. McDonough
    •  & Martin T. Zanni

  • Article
    | Open Access

    The photocurrent and luminescence of carbon nanotubes is governed by excitonic processes with diverse uses in nano-photonics. Here, Jiang et al.generate optical pulses from individual air-suspended carbon nanotubes under an application of square-wave gate voltages with control over pulse timing and duration.

    • M Jiang
    • , Y Kumamoto
    •  & Y. K. Kato

  • Article |

    Type-II glass-like carbon is a widely used material with desirable physical properties for industrial applications. Here, the authors investigate its structure-property performance under compression, and propose a model to explain its unusual, and pressure-tunable, elastic and mechanical properties.

    • Zhisheng Zhao
    • , Erik F. Wang
    •  & Guoyin Shen

  • Article |

    Single-walled carbon nanotube arrays have been proposed for use in electronics, but getting the tubes aligned and in high density is a very challenging task. Hu et al. show that catalyst particles dissolved in a substrate can slowly be brought to the surface, allowing continued controlled growth of nanotubes.

    • Yue Hu
    • , Lixing Kang
    •  & Jin Zhang

  • Article |

    Mechanical resonators lose energy over time due to both dissipative and dephasing processes. Schneider et al. now use a fast time-domain technique to separate the influence of these two types of mechanism, and demonstrate that at high driving power, dephasing becomes the dominant factor.

    • Ben H. Schneider
    • , Vibhor Singh
    •  & Gary A. Steele

  • Article |

    The integration of carbon nanotubes with silicon is important for their incorporation into next-generation nano-electronics. Here, the authors demonstrate a non-volatile switch that utilizes carbon nanotube networks to electrically contact a conductive nano-crystal silicon filament in silica.

    • Albert D. Liao
    • , Paulo T. Araujo
    •  & Mildred S. Dresselhaus

  • Article |

    Mixtures of various size fullerenes are available as a component of fullerene soot, but isolating pure fullerenes is a challenging task. Here, the authors use a porphyrin-based supramolecular cage that encapsulates fullerenes with high selectivity and releases C60by a simple washing technique.

    • Cristina García-Simón
    • , Marc Garcia-Borràs
    •  & Xavi Ribas

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Despite the technological relevance of molecular thin films, there is limited understanding of their growth on a molecular level. Here, the authors characterize the relevant processes in real time and determine energy parameters using a combination of X-ray techniques and kinetic Monte Carlo simulations.

    • S. Bommel
    • , N. Kleppmann
    •  & S. Kowarik

  • Article |

    Semiconducting single-wall nanotubes hold promise for the next generation of electronic devices, but separating them from metallic counterparts is still challenging. Here, the authors show how to sort semiconducting nanotubes by selectively stabilizing them in solution via a removable solubilizer.

    • Fumiyuki Toshimitsu
    •  & Naotoshi Nakashima

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